Ghost of a Chance
by weezerz2490
Summary: What if Mai wasn't the only student at her school to get drafted into helping Naru and Lin solve the case of the old school house? Who is the person from Naru and Lin's past that she resembles so closely in personality? And how will this affect the team, not to mention the plot line...
1. Evil Spirits

**Author's note:** This will probably be based mostly on the anime, but I might include some elements from the manga or light novels. It picks up from where the anime left off, and will probably end up a LinXOC story with some MaiXNaru... Actually, I really don't know what pairing this will end up as, since I'm a MaiXNaru fan, but I can't exclude the possibility that this may even end up as an OCXNaru story... (. _ . ;) Okay, now I'm just confusing myself...!  
Also, I'd like to apologize in advance if some of the characters get too OOC, but since my intention is for the OC to remind Naru and Lin of a certain _someone_ from their past, I think it would probably be harder for them not to be affected by her presence in some way...

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

_**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over!**_**?**

* * *

**[April,**  
**Wednesday]**

Hitomi sighed as she made her way down the hall to the principal's office, wondering what reason he could possibly have for calling her in to see him. It's not like she had done anything wrong… Well, okay, maybe that wasn't completely true, but sleeping through English class was something she did all the time, and the teacher didn't really care since her grades were the best in her class…

Hitomi shrugged.

'Oh well, I guess I'll find out soon enough…' She thought, deciding to wait and see what kind of trouble she was in _before_ she let herself get freaked out over nothing. "Pardon the intrusion. Matsumoto Hitomi here~" She said as she opened the door to the principal's office, managing to sound both polite and playful at the same time. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah, yes. Matsumoto-kun." The older gentleman said, glancing up at her, as the two people seated in front of his desk turned slightly to get a look the girl who had just interrupted their conversation. She had fair, porcelain skin; clear, green eyes; and curly, light blond hair. She looked more like a delicate porcelain doll than a Japanese high school student. "Please, come in, Matsumoto-kun. These people are Shibuya Kazuya-san and his assistant, Lin Koujo-san. Gentlemen, this is Matsumoto Hitomi-kun." The principal said, smiling kindly, as he introduced them to each other."Matsumoto-kun will guide you around the school and do her best to assist you."

'_She will…?'_ Hitomi thought, sweat-dropping, as she hesitated a bit before straightening up from her little greeting bow, slightly chagrined. Not that she really minded showing two handsome guys around, but shouldn't the principal have at least asked her first? "Um, excuse me, sir… but may I ask why I've been volunteered for this duty? Wouldn't Ushio-kun be a better choice since he's the student council president?" She pointed out reasonably. Hitomi was kind of annoyed this had been dumped on her without her consent.

"Hmm. Yes, I see your point, Matsumoto-kun, but since you don't need to study as much as the other third years, and you're already familiar with the old school house… I thought it would be best to ask you instead. Is there a problem with this decision?" The old man asked, frowning slightly. Hitomi sweat-dropped. To the untrained eye and ear, it may have seemed like he was being nice, but really the principal was silently daring her to challenge his authority, and she had a feeling that she could kiss her little nap-time in English class goodbye if she did.

"Oh, no. Not at all, sir." She replied sweetly, plastering a brilliant shit-eating grin on her face.

—∞—

"So, is it 'Rin' or 'Lin'?" Hitomi asked as she and the two ghost hunters walked down the hall together, trying to make a little small talk to fill the heavy silence. Once the initial explanations about their purpose at the school and what they needed to know from her were over, the two of them had become as silent as the grave.

"The correct pronunciation is 'Lin'." Lin replied calmly, though he and Naru both noted that she had said the 'L' as easily as if English were her native tongue, unlike the principal, who had butchered the 'L' to sound more like an 'R'. Hitomi nodded.

"I thought so. Even if this is Japan, it seemed a little strange for a Chinese surname like that to start with an 'R'." Hitomi said, smiling as she glanced up at Lin. He was a little taken aback by how honest and friendly it was. "When I was younger, I had a friend whose family name was 'Lin', too."

"It's a common name." Lin replied simply.

"Yeah, that's what she said." Hitomi agreed, grinning. Lin glanced at her out the corner of his eye again, studying her features a bit more closely. To be honest, he had barely even spared her a passing glance when they were first introduce in the office, but now he was noticing a few details he had missed… like that white patch she was wearing over her left eye.

"What happened to your eye?" Lin asked before he could stop himself. Her talkative nature seemed to be contagious.

"Oh, this old thing?" Hitomi asked, touching the eye-patch. "It's nothing, just an old wound from a childhood accident." She explained carelessly, shrugging it off.

"Yes, this is all quite fascinating, but when are you going to show us to the old school house?" Naru cut in. Truth be told, it was somewhat interesting to see his normally taciturn assistant talk so much to someone they had only just met, but they had ghosts to hunt, equipment to set up, and data to gather.

"Well, I just thought it might be a good idea to swing past the club room for the school newspaper while we're in the same building. They keep an archive of all their past articles, as well as clippings from local papers that featured articles on our school." Hitomi explained. "But if you don't want to…" she added, slowly turning to change their course, suppressing a smirk when she noticed the slight frown on their cranky guest's face. She just couldn't resist teasing his type.

Lin had to suppress his own smirk as well when he saw the priceless expression on Naru's face. Although he still looked calm to the outside observer, anyone who knew the boy really well could tell Matsumoto-kun had gotten him pretty good for a moment there. However, Naru quickly recovered.

"There will be plenty of time for that later." Naru said coolly, a bit miffed that he had let her teasing make him falter for even a second. "First, we need to set up our equipment in the old school house so we won't miss any paranormal activity that might be taking place there while you would have us waste time playing around."

Hitomi frowned slightly at his snarky comeback. Jeez, couldn't this guy take a joke?

"Okay, but most of the club members are third years, so don't be too surprised if no one is there to open the door for you later." She warned him. After all, she and the other third years were already on a shortened schedule, so most of her classmates would be at home study, attending cram school, or trying to take as many college entrance exams as possible while they had the chance. "And, for future reference, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Hitomi decided to add, throwing in a wink for good measure. The look on his face as he tried to remain stoic while fighting back simultaneous looks of astonishment, annoyance, and awkward discomfort at her playful faux-flirting was just too priceless.

Lin nearly laughed.

—∞—

"Well, this is it." Hitomi announced now that they were standing in front of the old school house. It was incredibly decrepit and dangerously dilapidated. "Please be careful and watch your step. The old school was supposed to have been built some time before World War II, so it's pretty ancient. Also, as with any place this old and neglected, it isn't very safe to wander around on your own, because the wooden walls and floors are rotted in some spots, and it gets more unstable the closer you get to the side of the building that's already been partly demolished. My class learned that the hard way when we tried to have a test of courage in here last year, and one of the girls got hurt when her foot went through the floor." She continued to explain as she led them around the inside, avoiding the more hazardous areas for everyone's safety.

"Test of courage? Aside from that student being injured, did anything out of the ordinary occur?" Naru asked. This must be why the principal had chosen her to be their guide. She and her classmates may be able to provide them with valuable information if any of them had experienced paranormal activity firsthand.

"Hmm… Not really…" Hitomi said thoughtfully as she sifted through her memories of that night for any useful information. "It's a creepy old building, especially at night, but I think most of the things we heard and felt had less to do with ghosts, and more to do with how damaged this place is. I doubt there are any ghosts in here."

"You don't believe in ghosts." Naru asked, more like concluded.

"Well, I wouldn't say that…" She said a little cryptically. "It's just that the noises we heard could have easily been caused by warped and creaky floorboards or wind whistling through cracks in the walls and broken windows. It was colder in one of the rooms further down the hall, but that's probably because there's a hole in the wall, and it was only covered with a thin tarp to keep the rain out. On a chilly night like that, it wouldn't have taken to long for the cold air to seep in from outside and lower the room's temperature."

Lin and Naru exchanged a brief glance. If they didn't know any better, they might think Hitomi was a ghost hunter herself. She was able to approach the problem from a scientific point of view, and she seemed to have good instincts.

"On the other hand, I have heard a rumor going around that someone saw a ghostly figure in one of the windows, so maybe there is something?" Hitomi added as an after thought. "Supposedly it was a third-year who saw it, but no one really knows for sure who started spreading it." It was probably just something someone had said as a joke to tease the underclassmen.

_PING~ PONG~ PIIINNG~!_!

"Ah!" Hitomi suddenly gasped when the dismissal bell for the end of the day chimed loud and clear over the loudspeakers and reached her sensitive ears. "Is it that late already! Sorry, Lin-san and Shibuya-san, but I'll have to end the tour here or I'll be late for my archery club's practice! If you need me for anything tomorrow, I'll be in class 3–A!" She explained hurriedly as she practically flew down the flight of creaky stairs, escaping before they came up with some reason for her to stay and help them with more work.

Naru and Lin stared after her for a moment before getting back to business.

What a strange girl…


	2. Evil Spirits2

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

"On_ the other hand, I have heard a rumor going around that someone saw a ghostly figure in one of the windows, so maybe there is something?" Hitomi added as an after thought. "Supposedly it was a third-year who saw it, but no one really knows for sure who started it." It was probably just something someone had said as a joke to tease the underclassmen._

_PING~ PONG~ PIIINNG~!_!

_"Ah!" Hitomi suddenly gasped when the dismissal bell for the end of the day chimed loud and clear over the loudspeakers and reached her sensitive ears. "Is it that late already! Sorry, Lin-san and Shibuya-san, but I'll have to end the tour here or I'll be late for my archery club's practice! If you need me for anything tomorrow, I'll be in class 3–A!" She explained hurriedly as she practically flew down the flight of creaky stairs, escaping before they came up with some reason for her to stay and help them with more work._

_Naru and Lin stared after her for a moment before getting back to business._

_What a strange girl…_

* * *

_**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over!**_**? ****_(Part 2)_**

* * *

Lin glanced up at the sky as he exited the old school house. It was going to rain soon. Since Naru had gone to pay a visit to the news paper club, Lin doubted he would be able to finish getting all of their equipment set up in time. Most of it wasn't exactly waterproof.

"Wow~! Is that really one of Matsumoto-sempai's arrows, Risa-chan~?" A giggling school girl asked rather loudly as she and her friend, who was clutching a broken practice arrow in her hand, as they cut across the lawn only a short distance away from him.

"Yeah, isn't it awesome~! Since it went into the target too deep, they had to break it to get it out, so Hitomi-sama said I could have it~!" Risa-chan replied, grinning proudly. She was obviously a big fan of a certain archery club member. Because of her 'exotic' looks and outgoing personality, Hitomi was actually quite popular, though she wasn't really aware of this since most of her fans worshiped her from afar... It was probably for the best since it would just freak her out knowing she had a whole army's worth of borderline stalkers watching her every move at school. "Just look at it~! Who would have though such a delicate beauty could draw one of those huge bows with enough strength to pierce one of those thick targets so deeply!" Risa continued to gush enthusiastically, eyes shining with admiration, as she held the arrow above their heads in exaltation.

"!" Lin's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Not only because of how strange the girls in this school were, but because the arrow in her hands had a faint aura of energy still clinging to it… Could it be that, despite her reluctance to acknowledge the existence of ghosts, Matsumoto Hitomi possessed the natural talent to use a skill as rare and legendary as a genuine 'Evil-Destroying Arrow'?

—∞—

**[Meanwhile, Inside The Main School Building…]**

Unfortunately, to Naru's chagrin, Hitomi had been right when she predicted there wouldn't be anyone to help him at the newspaper club, because with none of the third years there to keep them in line, the few remaining underclassmen had apparently decided to cancel their meeting and go home early. And, to top it all off, now it was raining, which meant Matsumoto Hitomi would probably be heading home soon as well if they canceled her archery practice… Oh well, he would just have to make her get the articles for him tomorrow.

"—_Nooo!"_ He heard two girls scream from within the AV classroom just ahead of him. Perhaps this wouldn't end up being a complete waste of time, after all…

–∞–

"Don't use such scary voice, Mai!" Michiru scolded her as she and Keiko let go of each other, trying to calm down after their little scare. Mai was too good at this sometimes…

"Sorry, sorry!" Mai said, laughing. Telling ghost stories with her friends after school was one of her favorite pastimes, and the windowless AV classroom was perfect for when you needed to create a dark and spooky atmosphere during the day. Now that Mai had told her story and switched off her flashlight, the only light left was Michiru's. "It's your turn, Michiru." Mai reminded her friend cheerfully.

"… Okay… then I'll you the story about the old school building." Michiru said a little hesitantly. She was still feeling a little nervous after the hearing the last horror story.

"The old one? You mean that wooden building that's half falling apart?" Keiko asked. Michiru nodded.

"It's not just falling apart, though." She explained, getting serious. This was a true story, after all. "The building was supposed to have been destroyed, but they had to stop the demolition process half-way through… because of a curse. There were frequent fires and accidents… a student's death… a teacher's suicide… a child's dead body…" Mai and Keiko swallowed nervously as Michiru continued. "When they tried to demolish the west wall, the roof fell through the second floor, and everyone on the first floor was killed… forcing them to stop the construction work. When the new school building was built, they tried to completely demolish the old building again… but many of the workers became sick or got in accidents. Equipment would break down too… Last year they tried to restart when the gymnasium was being built, but they had to stop in the middle because… the same kind of incidents started happening again. A driver lost control of his truck, and it ran over some students that were on the volleyball court… And what's more, I heard from one of our sempai that one night, as she was passing by the old school… _She looked up and saw a ghostly face staring down at her through the window_…_!_!"

"_!"_ Mai gasped, startled. Now _that_ was just plain creepy!

"… I'm turning it off now." Michiru warned them, and they all stared at her light nervously, waiting for it to go out and plunge them into darkness so they could begin the head count.

_CLICK._

"… One…" Michiru started after a moment of heavy silence. A bead of cold, nervous sweat rolled down her face.

"Two…" Keiko continued as sweat also rolled down her cheek.

"Three…" Mai said as a cold bead of sweat dropped from her chin.

"Four." Deep, mysterious voice echoed through the pitch-black room.

"_Eeeeh!_? _Kyaaaaaaaaaah! NOOOO!_! _A ghost! It's heeere!_!" The three girls screamed as they began to panic and scramble around the dark room, as though trying to escape from whatever had answered them. Unfortunately for Mai, Keiko had latched onto her as if she were her human security blanket, and she was squeezing her so tightly, that Mai was beginning to have trouble breathing. Fortunately, someone turned the classroom's lights back on before Mai became a ghost herself. Keiko's grip on Mai loosened, allowing her choking friend a much needed, sweet breathe of fresh air, while she and Michiru glanced curiously over at the person who had just flipped the switch for them, hoping they hadn't just been caught by a teacher…

"W-Were you the one who just said 'four'…?" Michiru asked the handsome boy who was standing in the doorway with his hand on the light switch.

"Yes… is something wrong?" Naru replied calmly, wondering why these girls were staring at him as if they had just seen a ghost. Upon hearing his response, all three girls suddenly relaxed completely, slumping back into their chairs, clearly exhausted from the emotional trauma he had just unintentionally put them through.

"Oh… I was so scared, I couldn't even move!" Keiko exclaimed as she finally released her hold on Mai completely. Mai sweat-dropped. If that was the case, them how had Keiko managed to get her in a choke-hold like that…? Still, Mai let out a sigh of relief as she massaged her sore neck.

"Excuse me. It was so dark, I didn't think anyone was in here, but then I heard your voices and couldn't help myself." Naru said smoothly, putting on a smile as he stepped further into the room, giving them a better view of his gorgeous face. Keiko and Michiru blushed, instantly charmed by the handsome boy dressed all in black.

"It's okay, no worries~!" Keiko exclaimed as she and Michiru jumped up and practically ran over to him, relieved and elated that they had been lucky enough to be found by such a hot guy instead of a teacher. "Are you a transfer student?"

"Sort of." Naru said nonchalantly, being purposefully vague. Sometimes people were more willing to talk if they didn't realize they were under investigation.

"What year are you?" Michiru asked excitedly.

"I'll turn seventeen this year." He replied, smiling politely at the two of them.

'Huh? Wouldn't you usually just say you're a second-year?' May thought, suspicious of how vague and cryptic all his answers sounded. She mentally sighed as she glanced at her friends. They were practically drooling. Just because he was a little cute, didn't mean they had to get so excited… Okay, maybe he was more than a little cute… maybe _very_ cute… but Mai still couldn't help but feel something as though was off about this guy…

"Then, you're one year ahead of us, huh?" Keiko said, blushing, as she smiled dreamily at him. She certainly wouldn't mind dating an older guy this handsome…

"We were telling ghost stories~" Michiru chimed in.

"Oh, really? Would you mind if I joined you?" Naru asked politely. From what he had heard of the last story, these girls might be able to tell him more about the third-year student from the rumor Matsumoto had mentioned earlier.

"Of course not, please do~!" Michiru said eagerly as she quickly pulled a chair over for him. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Shibuya." Naru replied simply.

"So, Shibuya-sempai, do you like ghost stories, too?" Keiko asked curiously.

"… Sure." Naru said, flashing them another smile. Let's go with that.

"Kyaaa~" The two girls squealed with delight, melting at the sight of such a brilliant and dreamy smile.

'Hnn!' Mai thought, snapping to attention as something finally clicked into place for her. She had a feeling she knew what was wrong with him now… "Um, Shibuya-san, or whatever." Mai addressed him as she finally came closer to join the others, causing him to glance up at her. Naru glanced up at her, somewhat surprised to see how wary this third girl seemed to be, since she was still keeping a safe distance between them, unlike her friends, who both looked like they wanted to jump him…

"Yes?" Naru asked, smiling at Mai as he maintained his polite façade.

'Just as I thought…! That's a fake smile!' Mai thought, clenching her fist. She could tell by the look in his eyes that it wasn't from the heart. 'He's not really smiling, just faking it… that means… He must be scheming something_!_!' She decided, furrowing her brow slightly. "Um, What are you doing in here, anyway?" Mai asked out loud.

"I had some errands to run." Naru replied.

"Well then, why don't you get to it, because we're leaving now." Mai said rather bluntly. She didn't know what he was planning, but she wasn't going to let her little circle of friends get dragged into it.

"Eeeh_!_?" Keiko and Michiru gasped, appalled that Mai would even suggest such they miss out on a golden opportunity to get to know such a hot upperclassman.

"_Mai!_ Please ignore her, Sempai. What errands do you need done? We'd be happy to help you." Michiru told him as she and Keiko smiled sweetly at him, completely ignoring Mai.

"You guys…" Mai said, sweat-dropping. Sometimes she wondered about her friends…

"That's alright. Instead, would you let me join in the next time you tell ghost stories together?" Naru said, giving them another charming smile.

"Sure~! How about tomorrow, after school?" Keiko suggested happily, glad Mai's rudeness had scared him away.

"That's fine. Where?" Naru asked. Hopefully doing this would help him gather more info on the school's situation.

"In our classroom~! It's 1–F!" Michiru said, grinning. She and Keiko began chatting excitedly together as they parted ways with their handsome and mysterious new sempai. Neither of them noticed the furtive glance Mai stole over her shoulder as they left, reluctant to take her eyes off of the boy in black, still suspicious of his motives…

—∞—

**[The Next Morning,  
Thursday]**

"Aaah… What a beautiful day~!" Mai said, smiling, as she stretched. The sky was blue, a gentle breeze was blowing, and all the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. "I was right to come to school early~ I have all these beautiful cherry blossoms to myself!"

Mai stopped when the old school building came into view, remembering all the creepy things Michiru had said about it just the other day…

"…" Mai said, smiling a little nervously, before deciding to take a risk and get closer to the supposedly haunted building. It should be fine as long as she didn't go inside, right?

'Now that I look at it, it feels like the rumors could be true, after all…' Mai thought, sweat-dropping. It certainly looked like the kind of place you'd expect to find a ghost or two… Mai leaned in closer to peek through one of the dirty windowpane on one of the front doors, curious about the inside as well. 'Huh… What is that? A TV camera?" Mai thought, surprised to see such a professional and expensive-looking video camera set up on a tripod in the middle of the floor. What was something like that doing in run-down place like this? But then again, it was really dark in there… maybe she was mistaken?

_CREEEAAAK…_

Mai glanced around nervously as she slowly opened the door and cautiously entered the creepy building. Sure enough, closer inspection of the object she had spied through the window confirmed her suspicions.

"Yep, that's what it is, alright. But why would it be in a place like this?" She wondered out loud. "Did someone leave it behind? No, that can't be right…" Still, she should probably turn it in to the school's office, just in case.

"Who's there_!_?" A deep voice shouted suddenly, startling Mai so badly that she actually jumped.

"_!_?" Mai yelped as she backed into one of the old shelves behind her with a little too much force. "I-I'm sorry, I was just, um…" Mai stuttered, feeling a little flustered and embarrassed for being so jumpy. She didn't even notice the shelf she had bumped into had started to sway until she felt it pushing against her back. "Huh—_No way!_?" Mai shouted, shocked.

_BANG—_CRASH—_!_! _CLATTER_…

It almost felt as though everything happened in slow motion, yet, at the same time, it had also happened so fast that Mai barely even had time to register the fact that in the instant the shelf began to fall on her, the man who had shouted at her just moments before had somehow managed to close the distance between them and push her out of the way, saving her.

However, the man and the camera weren't so lucky…

The camera had been completely totaled by one of the other shelves, and the man was laying on the floor.

"H-Hey! Are you okay_!_?" Mai asked anxiously as she jumped up to help him. The man groaned but didn't move. 'Oh no, what should I do? Somebody…'

"What happened?" Naru demanded as he stepped into the old building. Why was Lin lying on the floor, surrounded by all those fallen shelves… and what was a student doing here?

'It's that guy from yesterday…?' Mai thought, vaguely wondering what he was doing in a place like this.

"Lin, what happened?" Naru asked again when Mai didn't respond, kneeling down to check on the older man. Mai's eyes widened when a drop of Lin's blood hit the floor as Naru helped him sit up. "You're a bit cut up. Can you stand?"

"Yes." Lin replied calmly, despite the pain he was in.

"U-Um, I'm really sorry!" Mai said quickly, suddenly regaining her ability to speak. "I suddenly heard him call out to me, so I…"

"I don't need an explanation. Do you know is there's a hospital nearby?" Naru asked calmly, taking charge of the situation.

"Yeah. There's one right by the school's front entrance…" Mai started to explain as she reached out to try to help Lin. "—_!_?" She said, startled when he slapped her hand aside.

"No thank you. I do not need your help." Lin stated coldly, glaring at her.

"Huh…_!_?" Mai gasped softly, stunned. She'd never been glared at so harshly by anyone before…

"You're the girl I met yesterday, right?" Naru asked Mai as he helped Lin to his feet. "What's your name?"

"Taniyama… Mai…" Mai said a little hesitantly, holding the hand Lin had slapped away a little gingerly. That had kind of stung, in more ways than one…

"Well then, Taniyama-san, out of the kindness of my heart, I must tell you that the school bell sounded just a moment ago." Naru informed her.

"Eh?" Mai said dumbly, taking a moment to register that last remark. "Y-_You're kidding!_! _I'm tardy!_?" She shouted incredulously, immediately hightailing it out of there, leaving Naru and Lin in her dust, as she raced toward her classroom at mach speed. _'Aw, man! What's wrong with those guys? That building really is cursed!'_ Mai shouted internally as she passed by a certain third-year without a second thought.

Hitomi blinked, glancing between the fleeing Mai and old school building the flustered underclassman had just come out of.

'Did something happen…?' Hitomi wondered as she began to make her way towards the old building, curious. She had been on her way to pay the two ghost hunters a visit anyway, since she figured she could use helping them as an excuse to get out of English class. Her question soon answered itself when she saw Naru emerge from the building next, supporting and injured and limping Lin. The cut on his face was bleeding, but it wasn't too bad considering face and head wounds naturally bleed more than others to begin with. It probably wasn't as bad as it looked, but still…

"Um, I don't know what's going on, but there's a hospital near the school gate… I can drive you there if you want?" She suggested helpfully, wincing sympathetically, as she watched Naru help Lin limp over to the car. Despite Lin's stoic expression, she could his ankle must hurt pretty bad.

"That won't be necessary." Naru told her as he helped Lin into the passenger seat. Even for him, supporting the weight of a grown man Lin's height that far would be difficult to do over a distance of so many yards. "I'll drive."

"…" Hitomi said as she stared at him, deadpanning. "Uh, Shibuya-san… correct me if I'm wrong, but you're under 18, right?" She asked as Naru started to open the driver's door.

"I'm 17. Your point?" He asked curtly. He was beginning to get a little impatient. The sooner they got Lin to the hospital, the better.

"So, you know it's illegal for you drive that van without a proper license, right? You know, the kind you have to be at least _18 _years-old to get…" She continued pointedly, causing Naru to freeze in his tracks.

_Damn._ He had forgotten about that…

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you tried to drive without a license, Shibuya-san. Just move over and let 'Onee-san' handle this one, okay?" Hitomi said, giving him a wry, sympathetic smile. This guy was definitely the type who tried to take on too much on his own, but she could sympathize with how worried he must be for his older assistant, even though he probably wouldn't admit it…


	3. Evil Spirits3

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Um, I don't know what's going on, but there's a hospital near the school gate… I can drive you there if you want?" She suggested helpfully, wincing sympathetically, as she watched Naru help Lin limp over to the car. Despite Lin's stoic expression, she could his ankle must hurt pretty bad._

_"That won't be necessary." Naru told her as he helped Lin into the passenger seat. Even for him, supporting the weight of a grown man Lin's height that far would be difficult to do over a distance of so many yards. "I'll drive."_

_"…" Hitomi said as she stared at him, deadpanning. "Uh, Shibuya-san… correct me if I'm wrong, but you're under 18, right?" She asked as Naru started to open the driver's door._

_"I'm 17. Your point?" He asked curtly. He was beginning to get a little impatient. The sooner they got Lin to the hospital, the better._

_"So, you know it's illegal for you drive that van without a proper license, right? You know, the kind you have to be at least 18 years-old to get…" She continued pointedly, causing Naru to freeze in his tracks._

_Damn. He had forgotten about that…_

_"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you tried to drive without a license, Shibuya-san. Just move over, and let 'Onee-san' handle this one, okay?" Hitomi said, giving him a wry, sympathetic smile. This guy was definitely the type who tried to take on too much on his own, but she could sympathize with how worried he must be for his older assistant, even though he probably wouldn't admit it…_

* * *

_**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over!**_**? **_**(Part 3)**_

* * *

Lin glanced at Naru out the corner of his eye as he flipped to the next article in the binder of newspaper clippings on the old school building that Hitomi had fortunately had enough foresight to snag from their clubroom before ditching class to meet up with them earlier that morning. Good thing, too, because it seems they weren't going to release Lin from the hospital for at least a day or two. They had to keep his foot elevated because of how badly he sprained it. Although Naru had very reluctantly let Hitomi take charge of getting them to the hospital and helping him fill out the kanji-riddled paperwork while Lin was being seen by a doctor, it was obvious the genius narcissist was still quietly fuming over Hitomi's little 'leave it to Onee-san' speech. Since he had a higher IQ than most adults, it was only natural that someone as proud as Naru hated being talked down to or treated like a child…

"If you've got something to say, then say it." Naru stated crisply, pausing his own note taking to look up at his assistant.

"I was just thinking… Do you know who she reminds me of…?" Lin asked calmly, unfazed by the younger boy's dark mood.

"Don't say it." Naru said sternly, furrowing his brow in irritation, as he avoided the older man's gaze. He didn't want to think about how much Hitomi reminded him of…

"Pardon the intrusion~" Hitomi sang softly as she slid open the door and rejoined them, having finally finished turning in all the forms and paperwork for Lin. "Ara? Am I interrupting something…?" She asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion, when she detected the tension in the room. Was it her imagination, or was Shibuya-san in a bad mood…?

"_No."_ Naru said with a definite finality, slamming the door shut on that particular conversation before it could even begin.

'Well, that answers that question…' She thought, sweat-dropping. He was _definitely_ in a bad mood... "Did I do something to upset you, Shibuya-san?" She asked, furrowing her brow slightly. There was something about the look in his eyes that made her feel concerned for him… It was barely there, almost as intangible as a ghost, but she could sense there was something… almost sorrowful(?) about the moody teen.

"It's nothing. I simply do not appreciate being treated like a child." Naru replied coolly.

Hitomi blinked. Really? _That's_ what he was upset about? That 'Onee-san' thing had happened _hours_ ago. There had to be more to it than that, but since Naru was exuding such an intense _'don't ask'_ aura, she decided to file any other questions on the matter away for later, like when he was in a better mood to talk, if that ever happened.

"Shibuya-san…" Hitomi said, sighing, as she shook her head. "I was just trying to add some levity to the situation, but… FYI, you _are_ a kid—so am I, for that matter." She added quickly when he opened his mouth to protest. She was only a year older than him, after all. "There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it. No one can do _everything_ all by themselves. That's why the kanji for 'person' is two brush strokes supporting each other… or, at least, that's what my grandpa says…" She continued, trailing off when she realized she was starting to ramble and enter lecture mode. "… Yeah, I'll just shut up now." Hitomi said, avoiding his gaze, as she glanced around the room, sweat-dropping. She could feel him silently judging her, but she didn't have to worry about that for very long, because suddenly her watch started to beep.

BE-BEEP. BE-BEEP. BE-BEEP. BE—

Hitomi silenced the annoying alarm and looked at the time. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, crap! Sorry, guys, but I've gotta go!" She said as she quickly gathered up her things. "I can't believe I almost forgot that I have to go take the Todai exam today—_!_!" She rambled anxiously as she flew out the door. It had taken awhile before the doctors finally patched poor Lin up and settled him into a room, but until now Hitomi hadn't quite realized just _how long_…!

_BAM!_

Naru and Lin almost jumped, a little startled, when Hitomi suddenly slammed her hand against the doorframe as a break and she spun back around to face them.

"—Ah!" She shouted, pointing at Naru. "Don't worry, Shibuya-san! This shouldn't take too long, so I'll be able to take you back to school in about… two to three hours, tops! Ciao~!" She added gravely, as though swearing some kind of sacred oath, before giving them a little wave and taking off like a bat out of hell again.

"… That has got to be the strangest girl I have ever met." Naru stated bluntly after a moment of silence, once the sound of her frantic footsteps had faded off into distance, and were soon replaced by the mundane background noises usually associated with a hospital. Lin really couldn't dispute that, but this latest little display of 'uniqueness' on Matsumoto Hitomi's part did remind him of something rather important that he had neglected to tell Naru the other day…

"Perhaps, but then again the natural talent that girl seems to possess isn't exactly common place, either…" Lin said thoughtfully. He had originally wanted to look into the matter a little more on his own before letting Naru in on his suspicions, but since he wasn't going to be with him for a couple of days, that meant Naru would be left on his own in a potentially haunted and dilapidated building… Although Lin was reluctant to put so much trust in a Japanese girl they barely even knew, she just might be able to offer some form of protection for his charge until the doctors released him…

Naru perked up slightly at such a cryptic choice of words and turned to face Lin, giving the older man his full attention. He suspected his assistant was about to tell him something that could have the potential to be rather interesting, judging by the expression in his eyes.

"Explain."

—∞—

**[Later That Day…]**

"Wah, sorry about that, Shibuya-san~!" Hitomi said, smiling wryly, as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It took a little longer than I thought… one of the questions threw me off for a bit, but I'm pretty sure I managed to get it in the end."

"It's fine. Just do us both a favor keep your hands on the wheel." Naru deadpanned as he watched her reflection in the passenger's side window of the SPR van. She had still managed to return well within her self-imposed time limit to pick him up so they could bring the van and all of the equipment in it back to the school… Although, Naru still found it hard to believe that the space-cadet in the driver's seat could possess such a rare ability as the one Lin had described to him.

"Yes, yes. So, what now, Shibuya-san?" Hitomi asked, glancing briefly at the stoic boy out the corner of her eye while he continued to feign disinterest in her, even though she could tell he was watching her reflection's every move, as if studying it for something. "I can help out a bit since you're going to be shorthanded for awhile, but first I have to go sort out a few things with my archery club kohai. You see, before I knew the principal was going to volunteer me to help you guys, I had already agreed to lead practice in place of the captain, because a lot of the exams for the colleges she wants to go to are set to take place around practice time. I have to find someone responsible enough to leave in charge so they won't just slack off and end up ruining their chances at the tournament being held in a few weeks." Naru glanced at her.

"All right, but only if you let me film you while you shoot and arrow." He agreed, suppressing a smirk. This might be a good opportunity to confirm what Lin had told him.

"Um… Okay, I guess?" Hitomi said, raising an eyebrow slightly at his odd request. Why would he be interested in filming her shoot? She really didn't see why a paranormal researcher like him would be interested in high school archery, especially when he had seemed so impatient to get back to the old school building and work… Why would he suddenly propose something that would just delay him even further?

—∞—

"So… just curious, but why do you want to film me?" Hitomi asked as she finished pulling her hair back into a ponytail so it wouldn't get in her eyes while drawing her bow. Even though she wasn't planning on staying too long at the archery range once she had her kohai sorted out, Naru had insisted she don her practice uniform and go through her normal routine, because he wanted to recreate the circumstances that had resulted in the energy Lin sensed around her fired arrow as closely as possible. This should help ensure the accuracy this little experiment's results.

"Never mind that. Just focus on your archery." Naru instructed her as he finished adjusting the settings on the thermal camera. If she really was gathering and focusing any kind of spiritual or psychic energy in her bow and arrow, it should show up on the camera and record the fluctuations in energy in a manner similar to how the energy from a poltergeist might. "All right. Pretend the camera isn't even here. It's just a normal day at practice." Naru said, pressing the 'record' button, before signaling for her to begin. Hitomi still seemed a bit skeptical about the whole thing, but she nodded in understanding and turned to face her target. The air around them became still and silent, like the calm before a storm. Gone was the goofy and playful girl he had spoken to only moments ago. An aura of patient determination and controlled serenity had settled over Matsumoto Hitomi. _She was serious._ With the grace and skill expected of someone who had spent years perfecting their art, she performed the motions necessary to enter the proper stance required to regulate her breathing as she moved into position to draw her bow, just as she had done countless times before. Hitomi calmly drew her bow back, taking aim, as she focused on the target with her good eye. She could hear the beat of her own heart as she held her position, inhaling a calm, steady breath as she hardened her resolve.

'_Hit the mark.'_ Hitomi silently willed the arrow as she exhaled and let it fly. Though it was over in a matter of seconds, to Hitomi's trained eye, it may as well have been in slow motion. She watched calmly as her arrow curved slightly around the edge of the bow before straightening out and soaring swiftly through the air towards the target, counting the vibrations still dancing their way through her bow from when the taught string had snapped back to propel the arrow forward.

_THNK._

Hitomi took a deep breath and exhaled as a smile dawned upon her face once again, accompanied by the look of deep satisfaction and success. She had hit the bull's-eye.

"Aaah~! That felt good~!" Hitomi sighed happily, grinning, as she stretched. She always felt so much better after she shooting arrows at the club, like a whole ball of pent-up stress just flew away along with the arrow. "Hm? Is something wrong, Shibuya-san?" Hitomi asked when she noticed Naru was still staring at his camera, as though slightly stunned.

"Oh, no. I was just a little surprised that you could hit a bull's-eye while wearing an eye-patch. I had assumed it would inhibit your depth perception." Naru said calmly, quickly recovering his wits, as he saved the data and switched the camera off. Honestly, she had managed to surprise him, but not for the reason just given. Lin had definitely been right about this girl. From what he had seen on the thermal images captured by the camera, it seemed Hitomi could not only channel her own energy into an arrow, but also energy from the air around her. In those moments of deep concentration shortly before she had released the arrow, something rather incredible had happened. As the arrow in her hand grew warmer, with the heat and energy spreading from her fingertips at the tail-end all the way to the tip of the arrowhead, the air around Hitomi had been steadily growing colder, indicating that she had instinctively drawn energy from her environment to supplement her own. Whether said arrow truly was capable of 'eliminating evil' remained to be seen, but for now, Naru could now be certain of one thing.

Matsumoto Hitomi had potential.


	4. Evil Spirits4

Author's Note: Okay, I lied. It looks like I'm going to be following the manga more closely than the anime, but I think they're both equally awesome, and I hope you are enjoying the story. (^-^) Please try to review whenever possible to let me know what you think, if it's not too much trouble, because it helps motivate me and helps remind me of what I may need to go back and fix. Thanks in advance!

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_As the arrow in her hand grew warmer, with the heat and energy spreading from her fingertips at the tail-end all the way to the tip of the arrowhead, the air around Hitomi had been steadily growing colder, indicating that she had instinctively drawn energy from her environment to supplement her own. Whether said arrow truly was capable of 'eliminating evil' remained to be seen, but for now, Naru could now be certain of one thing—_

_Matsumoto Hitomi had a lot of potential._

* * *

_**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over!**_**? **_**(Part 4)**_

* * *

PING~ PONG~ PIIING~ POOONG~!

Mai sighed as the final bell rang and began packing her bag, not wasting any time.

"Oh, hey. Mai, are you going home?" Michiru asked, surprised, as she and Keiko strolled over to their friend's desk. Why would Mai be in such a hurry to leave _today_, of all days? "What about our plans with Shibuya-sempai? Don't you want to stay?"

"Nope. Not really." Mai said frankly. In fact, she'd rather not see him again after what had transpired earlier that morning…

"No way! I can't believe you!" Keiko exclaimed, shocked. "Don't you want to see his beautiful smile again_!_?"

Mai sighed again. Why couldn't her friends see that there was something fishy about that guy…?

"Ne, do you really think he'll come?" Keiko asked Michiru excitedly. "He sure did scare us good yesterday~!"

"Yeah, I really though he was a spirit!" Michiru said, smiling wryly and blushing a little as the two of them laughed together, deciding not to let Mai's reluctance to join the fun dampen their moods. "Hey, where should we meet today? It's not as spooky in here."

"Yeah, it won't be as scary if the room's not dark." Keiko agreed. "Should we meet in the audio-visual classroom again?"

"Excuse me…" A somewhat annoyed-sounding voice spoke up, interrupting their conversation. The three friends looked up to see a rather cross-looking girl, who had braided pigtails and glasses, standing just a couple desks away.

"Oh, Kuroda-san. We were just leaving…" Keiko said, smiling slightly out of politeness, as she tried to excuse herself and her friends so they could get out of there.

"I heard you guys. What were you talking about?" Kuroda asked a little abruptly. Mai and Michiru exchanged a glance. Had she seriously been _eavesdropping _on them…?

"We're gonna tell ghost stories again today, that's what." Mai stated bluntly, wondering why Kuroda thought it was any of her business.

"_Hey!"_ Michiru shouted indignantly as she flinched in shock, wondering what on earth had possessed Mai to tell her such a thing. What if Kuroda-san ended up wanting to come with them? It would spoil the whole mood if they had to share their date with Shibuya-sempai with her!

"_Ghost stories!_?" Kuroda exclaimed incredulously, as if they had just told her Pluto wasn't really a planet.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Hn?" Mai said as they all looked up to see who had just knocked on classroom 1-F's door.

"Taniyama-san, are you in here?" Naru asked as he slid the door open. Once he finished saving the data he had collected on Hitomi and put his camera and the retrieved arrow away safely in the SPR van, he had decided to track down this morning's troublemaker so that he could (as the odd third-year had so aptly phrased it) make Taniyama Mai 'an offer she couldn't refuse', while Hitomi was taking care of her business with the archery club.

"Aah…" Mai said, grimacing a little as she started, sweat-dropping. Yeah, _of course_ it would be him—the person she _least_ wanted to see right now…!

"Kyaa~! It's Shibuya-sampai~!" Michiru and Keiko squealed with delight, ecstatic to see the handsome boy in black again.

"What grade are you in? What are you doing here?" Kuroda asked rather bossily.

"I'm here to meet with these girls." Naru replied calmly.

"A meeting? To tell ghost stories?" Kuroda asked nervously, raising her voice slightly.

"Yes, and…" Naru started to add, but Kuroda suddenly turned and rounded on Mai and the others, surprising the girls.

"_I told you to stop that nonsense! No wonder I've been having a bad headache all day."_ She shouted self-righteously at the three girls, who stared at her like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

'_Huh?'_ They all thought, sweat-dropping. Seriously, what was this girl's damage? She had only just found out about it a few seconds ago! What did she by mean ' I told you to stop'—_She never said any such thing, not until just now!_

"I'm very psychic, so when spirits gather I get a horrible headache. I've been having one all day, so there must be spirits nearby." Kuroda continued a bit more calmly as she furrowed her brow in irritation and, presumably, pain, while holding a hand to her head.

"Yeah… so?" Mai asked, not seeing her point. What did that have to do with them?

"Don't you know what you're doing? When you tell each other ghost stories, low-level spirits gather around." Kuroda stated as if it should have been obvious. "When low-level spirits gather, that summons stronger spirits at a much higher level. When that happens, it'll be too late. That's why you shouldn't be telling ghost stories for fun. I would expect you to know better, Sempai. I'll exorcise for you just in case." She finished loftily, turning back to face Naru.

"I think you're just imagining all of this." Naru told her, touching a hand to his chin as though he had been seriously considering her words, but really Naru was picking up too many of the same signs and signals that usually indicated a person was simply acting out to get attention. She was trying way too hard, in his opinion.

"This is why I don't like dealing with non-psychic people." Kuroda huffed defiantly, refusing to back down. She hated it whenever people tried to make it sound as if she was just some head case…!

"Then, tell me… If you're really psychic, do you feel anything from the old building?" Naru asked, deciding to give her a chance to prove herself. After all, he and Lin hadn't realized Hitomi possessed any psychic abilities either until Lin saw her used arrow the other day.

"The old building?" Kuroda asked, perking up slightly, though she still seemed a bit wary of him. "Oh, definitely. I believe it's haunted by the spirits of old war victims."

"War victims? Which war?" Naru asked, for clarification.

"World War II, of course. I'm sure there used to be a hospital there. I've seen the spirits of nurses and patients with bandages." Kuroda stated confidently.

"Really? I didn't know there was a hospital there during World War II. I've heard that the school has been there since before the war. Could it have been a medical school, perhaps?" Naru said coolly, crossing his arms.

"_!"_ Kuroda said, clearly taken aback by what he had just said, as her cheeks began to flush from embarrassment. _"I… I don't know anything about that!"_ She snapped defensively. "I just know I saw them! But those who aren't psychic like me wouldn't understand!"

"The principal mentioned that he's upset because the spirits in the old building are preventing him from demolishing it. Why don't you exorcise the spirits for him with your 'psychic power'?" Naru suggested with a rather patronizing tone. This girl really had no idea who she was dealing with.

Mai sighed. These two were getting out of control. Shibyua-'sempai' had even started to drop his 'nice guy' act…

"Excuse me…" Keiko said a bit hesitantly, before their argument could continue. "Shibuya-sempai, can I cancel this evening?"

"Me, too. I don't really feel like telling ghost stories anymore." Michiru added. What if they really did end up summoning some kind of ghost? The thought sent chills down both girls' spines.

"No problem. We'll do it some other time." Naru told them, adopting his nice guy façade once more, as he turned to leave.

"Hmph, whatever!" Kuroda huffed, still a little pink with embarrassment from having been tripped up by him earlier. Good riddance!

"Oh." Naru said, pausing in the doorway. "Taniyama-san…" He said, glancing back purposefully at Mai, who tensed slightly with apprehension, hoping this situation wasn't going where she thought it was…

"Might I have a moment?" Naru asked in a polite tone, as though she had a choice. Mai really wanted to say no, but she could tell by the look in his eyes, that that wasn't an option.

'I guess he won't take no for an answer…' Mai thought as somewhat comic trails of tears began streaming down her face. "S-Sure…" She reluctantly submitted while her friends expressed envy over her situation in the background. _If only they knew…_

—∞—

"Is she one of your classmates?" Naru asked Mai once they had walked a short distance down the hall, away from the classroom.

"Yeah, but… I've never really spoken to her before today. She seems a bit weird…" Mai replied honestly. She didn't like talking badly about people behind their backs, but Kuroda-san really had been a little… you know…

"I wonder if she's really psychic…" Naru said a bit absently, thinking aloud.

"That's what she says, so maybe she is." Mai said, shrugging. "By the way, um… how is that man from this morning?"

"Ah, yes. I wanted to speak to you about that, too. He sprained his left leg pretty badly and won't be able to stand up on his own for awhile." Naru said, glancing at her.

"Eh!" Mai gasped, reeling back in shock. No way! "Oh no… I-I'm terribly sorry…" She apologized, feeling a little guilty. That poor man… "So, Shibuya-san… how do you know him?"

"Assistant." Naru stated simply.

"Assistant? You mean, you help him with his work, Shibuya-san?" Mai asked curiously.

"The opposite." He corrected her, stopping, so he could turn around and face her properly. "I'm the boss, and he's _my_ assistant." Mai just stared at him, stunned.

'_Whaaaaa—!_?' She exclaimed inside her mind. Wasn't he only 17…_!_?

"So, now… I have a problem, because my assistant is too injured to work. I believe you have an obligation here, Taniyama-san." Naru stated coolly. The fact that Hitomi had already volunteered to help him was inconsequential. Since Lin usually did the work of ten people, there was simply no way a single high school girl could make up the difference.

"W-Wait a minute! I happen to be a victim, too—!" Mai tried to protest, but Naru wasn't having it.

"He got hurt… what happened to you?" Naru asked sardonically, knowing that the worst that could've happened to Mai because of the incident was probably being marked tardy.

Mai sweat-dropped and bit her lip as she avoided his gaze. He had a pretty good point, there…

"And you broke the camera, too. He was only trying to stop you from touching the camera. As a result, this is what happened." Naru added, putting the final nail in her coffin. Mai closed her eyes and raised her hands to cover her face. She couldn't believe how badly she had managed to screw things up this time… the whole incident was such a tragedy…! She really did have no excuse…

"By the way, um… how much was it?" Mai asked, bracing herself.

"Probably more than you have." Naru stated bluntly.

"You mean, um…" She asked hesitantly, hoping he just meant more than she had in her wallet, and not in her bank account.

"You couldn't reimburse me. Which means, there is only one course you can take." He finished for her. Yes, he _had _meant her bank account.

Mai flinched as she tried to calculate how long it would take to pay off such a huge debt. Just how many large orders of fries was she going to have sling in order to make this happen…_!_?

"I want you to be my substitute assistant." Naru said, surprising her. Maybe he wasn't as much of a demon as Mai thought, because she had been expecting him to insist she pay him back in full…

"Y-Your assistant? Shibuya-san, you want _me_ to help you with your work?" Mai asked, feeling a bit apprehensive. She was relieved he wasn't insisting she pay him back such a huge amount of money, but…

"Isn't that what it sounded like?" Naru asked rhetorically. The look in his eyes clearly expressed that he was having doubts about her intelligence.

Mai sweat-dropped. She really didn't like this guy…

"So, what _is_ your work?" She asked.

"**Ghost Hunting."** He replied in English.

"Huh?" Mai asked, raising a hand and holding it beside her ear, thinking she must have misheard.

"The direct translation would be 'ghost exterminator', I suppose. I'm from the Shibuya **Psychic Research** center, which was hired by the principal to investigate the old school building.

"What's a 'saikiku risachi' center?" Mai asked.

"Aren't you taking English classes? Your pronunciation is terrible." Naru told her bluntly, causing her to sweat-drop and wonder why he felt the need to be so mean to her. Despite his stoic façade, Naru was actually a little frustrated that he had to stop and explain something so simple to her. He hadn't had this problem with Hitomi. She had just nodded in understanding and taken everything in stride. "'**Psychic**' as in 'shinrei' (spiritual). '**Research**' as in 'chousa' (investigation). In other words, it's a spiritual phenomenon investigative bureau." He explained, turning back to face her, so he could look Mai directly in the eye so she could see how serious he was. "And I am its manager."


	5. Evil Spirits5

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Aren't you taking English classes? Your pronunciation is terrible." Naru told her bluntly, causing her to sweat-drop and wonder why he felt the need to be so mean to her. Despite his stoic façade, Naru was actually a little frustrated that he had to stop and explain something so simple to her. He hadn't had this problem with Hitomi. She had just nodded in understanding and taken everything in stride. "'**Psychic**' as in 'shinrei' (spiritual). '**Research**' as in 'chousa' (investigation). In other words, it's a spiritual phenomenon investigative bureau." He explained, turning back to face her, so he could look Mai directly in the eye so she could see how serious he was. "And I am its manager."_

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 5)**

* * *

The sun cast an orange glow over the school grounds as it began to set. Hitomi was just about ready to go look for Shibuya-san herself, when she spotted him and Mai making their way towards the building.

"Yo!" Hitomi called out as she stopped leaning against the van so she could straighten up and go greet them. "What took you so long, Shibuya-san? I was about to send out a search party." She joked, grinning rather cheekily.

"Ah!" Mai gasped, surprised to see such a famous upperclassman in flesh. "Matsumoto-sempai_!_? What are you doing here—Wait, you_ know_ Shibuya-san_!_?" Mai asked, stunned.

"Hm? Well, I guess you could say that… The principal asked me to be his guide, so I'm lending him a hand with the investigation." Hitomi explained, glancing at Mai. "… Um, have we met before?" She asked a bit sheepishly, hoping she hadn't forgotten and hurt the younger girl's feelings.

"Eh? Ah, no, but… I've seen you from a distance, and Matsumoto-sempai's pretty famous, so…" Mai replied, also feeling a bit sheepish now for over-reacting. "… I'm Taniyama Mai, a first-year."

"Oh, okay. Well, it's nice to meet you, Taniyama-san." Hitomi said, smiling, relieved that she hadn't forgotten a kohai again. She had so many now that she was a third-year. "You can just call me 'Hitomi', if you want. Everyone else does."

"Oh, uh… then, you can call me 'Mai', Hitomi-sempai." Mai said, relieved that Hitomi didn't seem to mind her previous little outburst at all.

"You can call me 'Hitomi' too, Shibuya-san." Hitomi added, turning to address Naru.

"If you two are done here, it's time to get to work, Matsumoto-san." Naru deadpanned before continuing on his way towards the old building, completely ignoring her.

"Well, you're no fun…" Hitomi commented, sweat-dropping, as she smiled wryly. "Come on, Mai-chan. We'd better get a move on before the boss gets cranky."

'Isn't he already cranky…?' Mai thought, sweat-dropping.

"So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Mai asked Hitomi as they followed after him, hoping for an explanation free of any sarcasm or disdain.

"Oh, about that… it seems the principal went to their office to hire them about a week ago, and they were finally able to come and begin their investigation yesterday." Hitomi explained. "Apparently, there's a strange rumor that the old building is cursed, and this had the principal worried, so he asked them to look into the phenomena behind the huge rash of accidents always seemed to happen whenever they tried to demolish the old building."

"Heh? Then, is that the only reason why you transferred to this school?" Mai asked Naru.

"Transfer?" Hitomi asked, blinking with confusion. That was news to her.

"Why would I transfer here to do research?" Naru asked, furrowing his brow slightly. He really was starting to wonder about this girl.

"But, yesterday you said you were a transfer student." Mai reminded him, frowning slightly.

"I may have said such nonsense… but you were talking about ghost stories, weren't you? That's why." He explained.

"I see. You might be able hear something about the school building that way." Hitomi said, hitting her palm with her hand in an 'Aha!' kind of way.

"Correct. My goal was to gather information amongst the students." Naru said. Thanks to that, he had managed to catch their story about the old building.

"So, how much of Michiru's story do you think is true?" Mai asked, correctly assuming he had heard most of the story before scaring the living daylights out of the three of them during the head count.

"What story?" Hitomi asked curiously, feeling a bit left out.

"It has to do with that rumor you mentioned yesterday involving that third-year." Naru told Hitomi as he unlocked the van and retrieved his briefcase. He may as well explain everything now, just to get it out of the way. "I know that it's true there were many people who died while the old building was in use." He added, answering Mai's question.

"Really? Wow…" Mai said, swallowing nervously. Hitomi already knew that much since she had briefly scanned the newspaper articles before handing them over to him and Lin. What really caught her attention was when Naru pulled out his notes and stared flipping through them. _They were all in English_.

'Wow… his grammar is perfect…' She thought, impressed. But why go through all the trouble of writing it in English? I mean, Hitomi sometimes did that, but that's because English was actually her first language, so it felt more natural and made it easier to record a string of thoughts more quickly when she was in a hurry…

Could it be that Shibuya-san also…?

"Until eighteen years ago, when the old building was still being used as part of the main campus… one to two people died every year." Naru began explaining once he found the page he was looking for, interrupting her train of thought. "It is also true that the roof fell in during demolition of the west wing. However… there is no evidence that any demolition workers ever died. And it's true that five people were injured, but that accident was caused by human error, not spirits."

"I see…" Mai said, sighing with relief. Hitomi nodded, seconding that emotion.

"That's good to know." She said, though the thing about one to two people dying every year was still a bit worrisome…

"Demolition was completed as planned. They demolished one third of the building, and that was all." Naru continued. "Since then… and this was six years ago… the body of a dead child was discovered in the old building. She was a seven-year-old who lived in the neighborhood. She had been kidnapped and held for ransom. The criminal was caught and arrested one month after her body was found. And it's also true that there was a teacher who committed suicide, but… he suffered from neurosis. They found the suicide note he had left behind."

"Impressive! Very good research." Mai praised him, a little impressed he could find out so much in so little time.

"This is nothing. Don't underestimate my investigative skills." Naru stated bluntly, causing the two girls to sweat-drop.

"…" Hitomi said, letting out a quiet nervous laugh as she sweat-dropped and glanced between Mai and Naru, smiling wryly. Poor Mai-chan. Shibuya-san almost seemed determined to give her a hard time…

"So, what about the 'truck that ran out of control'?" Mai asked glumly. Naru handed her the article so she could see for herself. It said '_Daytime High School Tragedy—Nine Students Hit':_

_A demolition truck with a full load of bricks suddenly veered off course and onto a the high school's volleyball court. The gym class was in session, and nine students were critically injured, two of them dying soon after the accident. The driver of the vehicle was found to be intoxicated and…_

"True, they had to stop the work on the building because of that accident, but some also believe it was because of the rumors about the building." Naru finished for her. "But none of these events convince me that the rumors are true. People may believe that the building is ill-omened, but clearly there is an explanation for each of these incidents. My gut tells me this assignment will not reveal anything out of the ordinary." He concluded, glancing at Hitomi to let her know he agreed with her initial impression of the old building. So far, the only thing 'misfortunate' about this place was the sad state of disrepair it had fallen into over the years.

–∞–

Mai and Hitomi stared at the row of large, oblong sound microphones that had been lined up behind a makeshift fence around part of the old building, which was actually remains from the last attempt to demolish the building.

'Interesting… they look like professional boom mikes, minus the foam padding…' Hitomi observed.

"Take those microphones down and gather them up. I'll get the mike stands." Naru ordered calmly.

"Aye, aye, sir~!" Hitomi said playfully without hesitation, giving him a mock salute, before getting to work. She was already used to his brusque attitude. Mai sweat-dropped as she followed her sempai's example and got to work, albeit a bit less enthusiastically since she had been blackmailed into this…

"What do you use these mikes for?" Mai asked curiously. They were awfully big.

"I suppose microphones are generally used to collect sound." Naru deadpanned as he began collecting the mike stands.

"Pft!" Hitomi laughed, unable to stop herself in time, as she bit her lip and tried not to smile too much at poor Mai's expense.

"That's not what I meant… I know _that_ much!" Mai retorted, blushing furiously. What was this jerk's problem_!_?

"It's dangerous to stay inside a haunted building that you're not familiar with. So it's important to first collect as much information as possible from outside of the building." Naru explained patiently. "For example, you can record sound from outside or set up camera's around the building."

"So… you aren't scared of being in a haunted building?" Mai asked. This was turning out to be kind of different from what she had expected… "What about you, Hitomi-sempai?"

"Not particularly." Naru replied stoically, completely unconcerned.

"I actually like this kind of thing. Isn't it interesting?" Hitomi responded cheerfully, flashing Mai a brilliant shit-eating grin. She used to be really into ghosts and stuff like this when she was younger.

Mai sweat-dropped. Shibuya-san was one thing, but Hitomi-sempai, too? How could she look so happy about this—there were practically sparkles floating in the air around her!


	6. Evil Spirits6

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"It's dangerous to stay inside a haunted building that you're not familiar with. So it's important to first collect as much information as possible from outside of the building." Naru explained patiently. "For example, you can record sound from outside or set up camera's around the building."_

_"So… you aren't scared of being in a haunted building?" Mai asked. This was turning out to be kind of different from what she had expected… "What about you, Hitomi-sempai?"_

_"Not particularly." Naru replied stoically, completely unconcerned._

_"I actually like this kind of thing. Isn't it interesting?" Hitomi responded cheerfully, flashing Mai a brilliant shit-eating grin. She used to be really into ghosts and stuff like this when she was younger._

_Mai sweat-dropped. Shibuya-san was one thing, but Hitomi-sempai, too? How could she look so happy about this—there were practically sparkles floating in the air around her!_

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 6)**

* * *

"By the way, why are you doing this at your age?" Hitomi asked Naru curiously. She was kind of surprised his parents would let him skip school for something like this, not to mention how a seventeen-year-old could afford all of this expensive-looking equipment…

"Because they need me." Naru replied without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"B–But there must have been some cases you couldn't solve?" Mai said, sweat-dropping as she smiled wryly.

"Never. After all, I'm good at what I do." Naru stated confidently.

"Wow~" Hitomi said with appreciation. Color her impressed. She found it a bit hard to believe, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel that if anyone could do something like that, it would be definitely be him. Mai, however, was not entirely of the same opinion. She had flinched at this revelation, clearly taken aback.

'I'm speechless… I can't stand this guy…' Mai thought, sweating nervously, as the corner of her mouth twitched in an awkward nervous smile, more than a little chagrined. She kind of wanted to smack him. "~Ahh… How impressive!" Mai said a bit sarcastically, though the effect was kind of ruined since her nervousness made her voice sound weird. "You're handsome, and on top of that you're capable of getting a difficult job done."

"You think… I'm handsome?" Naru asked, turning to look at her. Hitomi's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. Mai-chan was pretty bold.

"Yeah, I guess… Everyone else seems to think so." Mai said thornily, sweat-dropping as a vein throbbed on her forehead. Why was _that_ the part he cared about? Didn't he notice the sarcasm in her voice_!_? At least give her the satisfaction of reacting to that, even if just a little…!

"I see… at least you have good taste." Naru stated calmly before turning away and getting back to work.

_"Uh!"_ Mai groaned, trying not to gag as she bit her tongue and reeled backwards in shock, desperately trying not to face-fault or drop the expensive mikes. _This guy…!_! He was _definitely _looking down on her! '_I… I'm absolutely stunned…!_ Of course his looks and title are impressive, but the most stunning thing is… _his narcissistic behavior!_!' She thought grudgingly, astounded by the sheer nerve of the handsome jerk.'From now on, I'm going to call you 'Naru-chan'—_Narcissistic Naru-chan!_!'

"Pft~!" Hitomi laughed softly, turning away to hide her Cheshire cat smile, as she shook with suppressed laughter. Watching these two together was just too funny! They were like a two-man comedy act...!

—∞—

"Okay, I helped you. So, was that enough?" Mai asked once they had returned to the van with the Mikes and their stands. Naru was in the process of unlocking the back of the van so he could open it for them. "I want to go now…" Mai continued, trailing off when she saw what was waiting for them inside of the SPR van. Packed on sturdy shelves were several monitors, various control systems, and what looked like several more cameras similar to the one she had broken earlier that morning. Hitomi let out a slow whistle of appreciation. This was her first time actually seeing what they had back there as well.

"Nice~" Hitomi said, grinning. This was just like that TV show she used to watch back in the States about a team of American ghost hunters who went around conducting scientific paranormal investigations, too… what was it called again…?

"Let's carry them out." Naru said abruptly.

"You mean _all of them!_?" Mai asked incredulously. Looks like she could kiss her dreams of going home before the sun finished setting goodbye…

"We're going to need everything." He stated calmly.

'What part of this is 'ghost hunting'…?' Mai wondering, sweat-dropping. "Do you really know how to use all of this stuff, Shibuya-san?"

"I'm smart, unlike you." Naru replied bluntly as he rolled up his sleeves. "Let's go." Hitomi sweat-dropped as she grabbed part of the spare, disassembled set of shelves to carry. Was it just her imagination, or did Shibuya-san enjoy picking on poor Mai…?

"Eh? Are we going inside?" Mai asked nervously, so shocked that she forgot to react to his sarcastic insult.

"Of course." Naru stated very matter-of-factly. That much should have been obvious. "Don't worry, I won't make you go in by yourself. Just stay close to Matsumoto-san." He added when he noticed that Mai had visibly paled and looked like she might be considering making a run for it.

'Why do I have to go through all this? The old building with the scary rumors… This weirdo that came to research the building, who calls himself a 'ghost hunter', or whatever… _What have I gotten myself into!_?' Mai cried internally, biting her lip nervously as she followed their jerk of a fearless leader and Hitomi-sempai inside the creepy old building.

—∞—

_CREEEEAAAAK…_

'… Yikes. It feels really creepy in here…' Mai thought as a bead of nervous sweat rolled down her face. The floorboards creaked practically every time they took a step…

"Say, Shibuya-san… can we use a room on the first floor? I don't trust the structural integrity of this building enough to spend too much time on the second floor…" Hitomi said, smiling wryly.

"Very well. Let's use this room." Naru said, sliding open a nearby classroom's door. Mai glanced around nervously as she followed them inside. It seemed Naru had chosen wisely, because this room was still relatively intact and there still some decently stable tables left in it as well.

"Could you two build a shelf, please? I'm going to bring in some more equipment." Naru stated, managing to make it sound more like an order than a request.

"You mean you're going to leave us in here all by ourselves!?" Mai shouted incredulously.

"But there will be two of us…" Hitomi reminded her, smiling wryly as she sweat-dropped. If anything, Shibuya-san would be the one in the more dangerous situation since he would be walking around on his own without a safety buddy.

"Would you rather carry the equipment?" Naru asked them, pausing in the doorway. "Some of it can weigh up to 40kg…"

Hitomi sweat-dropped. That meant they probably weighed around 88lbs. if you converted the metric values…

"Shelves will be fine." The two girls replied almost immediately, while trails of somewhat comical-looking tears began to stream down Mai's face because of how helpless she was against his logic. Neither of them saw the smirk Naru hid as he turned back and continued on his way.

"Don't worry, Mai. I've been in here twice, and I'm still in one piece~!" Hitomi said brightly, trying to cheer her up. "For now, let's just focus on getting this shelf set up."

"O-Okay, Sempai…" Mai agreed reluctantly, wishing she was anywhere but here. At least she had Hitomi-sempai with her… 'It's still light out. Everything's going to be fine, right…?' Mai thought, trying to keep calm.

_SCCRRRRTTCCHHH—_

"!" Mai gasped, startled when an ominous creak suddenly echoed throughout the room.

"… That's strange. I wonder if an animal got in while we were gone…?" Hitomi wondered out loud, glancing up at the ceiling. She could've sworn it sounded like it had come from up above…

"Eh… Ah, yeah… I guess maybe that could be it…" Mai said, sweat-dropping, as she smiled wryly and laughed nervously. She was so glad Hitomi-sempai was there…!

_—BOOOM!_

"Aaaah…!" Mai shrieked with fright, instinctively shielding herself, when the lights suddenly flashed on rather violently. Hitomi shut her eyes and covered her ears to protect them against the sudden onslaught of bright, fluorescent lights and Mai's startled scream.

"Calm down, Mai! It's just the overhead lights coming back on." Hitomi chided her kohai calmly, sweat-dropping. It seemed Mai was letting the spooky atmosphere get to her a little too much…

"Ah, right…" Mai said sheepishly, blushing out of embarrassment, as she lowered her hands and tried to still her rapidly beating heart. 'Calm down, Mai… It's nothing. Nothing…' She silently told herself, taking a deep breath.

KTZ. KTZ. SSST…

Mai froze when she heard something scratching at the door. Ever so cautiously, Mai glanced over her shoulder when it sounded like something had slowly begun to slide it open. _There was a hand…!_! Mai's eyes widened in as she reared backin shock and horror preparing herself for the worst…

And then Naru stepped into view, carrying some cables he had looped over his shoulders. … It had been his hand.

"Ah…" Mai said, sweat-dropping, when she realized just how ridiculous she must look as Naru stared at her, unimpressed.

"Oh, welcome back, Shibuya-san~!" Hitomi said, smiling, as she paused in her work and glanced up at him from a nearly completed shelf. While Mai had been too nervous to work, Hitomi had just gone ahead and done it herself. Mai sweat-dropped, feeling bad for letting her sempai do most of the work by herself, but slightly chagrined that the older girl could be so at ease in such a creepy place.

Still, Mai sighed in relief as Naru walked past her, relieved it hadn't been a real ghost.

"Don't just stand there. Get to work." Naru scolded her rather coldly as he set the cables down, wondering just how much of the work Hitomi had to do on her own while Mai was wasting time by goofing off.

'I really don't like this guy!' Mai thought, sulking a little, as she picked up one of the remaining shelf parts and helped Hitomi finish putting it together, while Naru left to get more equipment.


	7. Evil Spirits7

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_KTZ. KTZ. SSST…_

_Mai froze when she heard something scratching at the door. Ever so cautiously, Mai glanced over her shoulder when it sounded like something had slowly begun to slide it open. There was a hand…! Mai's eyes widened in as she reared backin shock and horror preparing herself for the worst…_

_And then Naru stepped into view, carrying some cables he had looped over his shoulders. … It had been his hand._

_"Ah…" Mai said, sweat-dropping, when she realized just how ridiculous she must look as Naru stared at her, unimpressed._

_"Oh, welcome back, Shibuya-san~!" Hitomi said, smiling, as she paused in her work and glanced up at him from a nearly completed shelf. While Mai had been too nervous to work, Hitomi had just gone ahead and done it herself. Mai sweat-dropped, feeling bad for letting her sempai do most of the work by herself, but slightly chagrined that the older girl could be so at ease in such a creepy place._

_Still, Mai sighed in relief as Naru walked past her, relieved it hadn't been a real ghost._

_"Don't just stand there. Get to work." Naru scolded her rather coldly as he set the cables down, wondering just how much of the work Hitomi had to do on her own while Mai was wasting time by goofing off._

_'I really don't like this guy!' Mai thought, sulking a little, as she picked up one of the remaining shelf parts and helped Hitomi finish putting it together, while Naru left to get more equipment._

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 7)**

* * *

'Wow…' Mai thought as she stared at all the equipment they had finished setting up on the tables, impressed.

"What's that?" Hitomi asked curiously as she stepped up beside Naru, trying to sneak a peek at what was in the last box he had just brought in. "A tape recorder…?" It looked like one of those big ones they used to use in the 90's for TV and radio stations, back before CDs and digital recording had replaced cassette tapes and floppy disks. She was a little surprised to see something so analog mixed in with all the newer tech. Even the thermometers she had carried in were digital…

"Yes, but this one is a little special. It can record for up to twenty-four hours. This is what we plug our mike into." Naru explained as he began setting up.

"I see… I thought you would be using a digital recording device, but I guess it's easier to prove a tape recording is authentic, since it's a harder to alter than a digital one, huh?" Hitomi mused, tapping her chin lightly with her finger as she thought. It would be pretty obvious if someone tried to splice the tape to add in 'ghostly evidence' after the fact, but it was pretty easy to alter digital soundtracks nowadays without being obvious, if you were good enough.

"What do you mean? What's it for?" Mai asked curiously, deciding to join the conversation. Naru paused in his work to glance up at Mai.

"I hate having to explain everything to amateurs." He replied coolly, furrowing his brow ever so slightly in annoyance. Hitomi might not be a professional in this field either, but she at least seemed to be using her head.

Hitomi sweat dropped as Mai slammed her hands on the desk. The younger girl clearly getting fed up with his attitude, and Hitomi couldn't say she blamed her.

"Moh!" Mai exclaimed in exasperation and irritation. "You knew I was an amateur when you hired me. If you've got a problem with that, then I won't help you." She stated defiantly.

"…" Naru said as he stared down Mai, who was managing to hold her own against his icy glare. She was tougher than she looked.

"Now, now… let's everybody take a breath and calm down, huh?" Hitomi said, smiling wryly as she sweat-dropped again, deciding to step in and play peacemaker. "You know Mai-chan has a point, Shibuya-san. I don't think the average Japanese high schooler would know too much about this stuff. I only know a little bit about it because I went through a phase when I was younger…"

Naru sighed and reluctantly began to explain the equipment, deciding they had both made valid points, and he may as well get it over with.

"Fine. It's to record the sound of a ghost or anything else unusual. All day today I recorded the sound of the first floor through the windows, just as a test." He explained concisely.

"Oh! That microphone from earlier." Mai said, , hitting her palm with her hand in an 'Aha!' way.

"Correct. Tonight, we'll set the mike and recorder in this room.

"You don't stay overnight?" Hitomi asked, a little surprised. It didn't really seem like a good idea to leave all of this expensive-looking equipment alone in here overnight, and the show she used to watch on the TAPS team had always stayed overnight during their investigations…

"Not yet. If there really is a ghost here, first I'll need to determine how powerful it is." Naru explained patiently.

"I see. That makes sense…" Hitomi said thoughtfully. After all, even if there was a plausible explanation behind the all the incidents that had occurred here, it didn't change the fact that people had still died here… Hitomi shuddered as a chill crawled up her spine at the thought. Maybe it would be better is she tried not to think about that, or her imagination might start running wild on her and make her as jumpy Mai had been earlier.

"You're the type of person to tap a stone bridge before crossing it." Mai observed.

"What?" Naru asked. He couldn't remember having ever heard that particular phrase before.

"It means you're extremely careful." Hitomi explained, noting the slightly puzzled look on his face. Her hypothesis that Shibuya-san was actually originally from an English speaking country was looking more and more likely by the minute if he didn't know such a common Japanese phrase.

"Of course." He replied matter-of-factly, now that he understood what Mai's odd turn of phrase had meant. "Sometimes you encounter great danger at a haunted house. If you underestimate them, you might never return."

"Well, there's a happy thought!" Hitomi said dryly, smiling wryly as she sweat-dropped. Did he really have to say that while they _in_ said supposedly haunted building?

"Don't try to scare us like that." Mai scolded him, gulping nervously, as she took a step back. "Hey, what's this?" She asked when she noticed another kind of camera by her feet.

"I don't want to talk anymore." Naru stated rather sternly, not even bothering to turn and face them as he continued adjusting the settings on the equipment they would be using that night. He seemed to have run out of patience with the two girls and all of their questions.

'Wow… antisocial, much?' Hitomi thought, sweat-dropping. She was starting to wonder if their temporary boss might be bipolar…

"Ah, I see…" Mai said, also sweat-dropping and slightly chagrined. His face might be nice, but he should put a bag over that personality. "No problem. But I might make some big mistakes out of ignorance." She continued in a suspiciously innocent tone of voice. "Is this a camera or a fancy footstool?" She asked, gingerly setting one foot on top of it. _"Oops…"_ she added sassily when Naru turned around and nearly visibly flinched upon seeing what she was doing to his expensive camera. She was clearly threatening to break it, which proved Mai had a lot of guts, and he was concerned she just might be stupid enough to go through with it. He was going to run out of cameras at this rate…

"It's an infrared camera." Naru said finally, emitting a sigh of defeat and relief when Mai removed her foot, though he found the victorious grin on her face incredibly annoying. Hitomi had to cover her mouth to hide her own amused grin. She decided she really liked Mai. That girl had spunk! "To save you the trouble of asking," Naru continued, securing his pokerface back in place, "this is a thermograph. And this one is a super high-speed camera. The infrared and super high-speed cameras are used for shooting in the dark. The thermograph is a camera that's sensitive to temperature and captures temperature levels."

"Wow… that's impressive." Mai said, kind of amazed. "Um, this might be a stupid question, but… why do you need to capture temperature levels?" She could understand the need for shooting in the dark in a haunted house, but temperature? "Geh!" Mai flinched a little when she noticed the look her jerk of a new boss was giving her. Apparently, it _was_ a stupid question. Hitomi decided to cut in before Naru could give her another tongue lashing.

"A thermograph is used to measure temperature, because when a ghost appears, the temperature usually drops in the surrounding area." She quickly explained. "The camera records the different temperature levels using a range of colors, from warm to cool. It gives a clearer image of the difference in temperature between individual objects in the room than you can get by just taking the mean temperature of the whole room using a thermometer." Naru nodded in approval of her explanation.

"Oh, I see." Mai said, nodding in understanding. That made sense enough. Mai was also glad that at least one person here could give her a straight answer without being completely condescending.

"Now, if you understand, _stop asking stupid questions and get to work_." Naru scolded her, wishing Mai would stop wasting time and distracting Hitomi. He was starting to miss Lin. "I want the two to go take temperature readings for all of the rooms in this building. And don't forget to record the data." He added sternly, handing the digital thermometer to Hitomi. He didn't want them wandering around on their own in an unstable and supposedly haunted building, so it would be better to have the girls to stick together for now. He also felt that he would be able to finish getting everything set up here without them around to distract him.

"Y-Yes, sir!" Mai replied a little nervously, sweat-dropping. Geez, he didn't have to get that upset!

"Got it, boss!" Hitomi said a bit more cheerfully, flashing him a brilliant shit-eating grin, before grabbing a clipboard and pen. "Come one, Mai ~ It's ghost hunting time!"

—∞—

"So, Hitomi-sempai… you said you went through a 'phase'…?" Mai asked curiously while they worked together recording the different room temperatures.

"Yeah. I used to be really into ghost stories and stuff when I was younger. I was always reading **_Goosebumps_**, watching scary movies, and so on… one of my favorite TV shows featured **TAPS**, a team of **ghost hunters**, conducting paranormal investigations. They used pretty much the same equipment and scientific approach as Shibuya-san."

"O-Oh… I see…" Mai said, sweat-dropping. "Um, what are '**gooseu-bumpsusu**'…?" She asked, smiling wrly.

"Oh, well… '**goose bumps**' is a phrase that normally refers to the little raised bumps you get on your skin when it's cold, or when your hair stands up on your arms and the back of your neck… but in this case **_Goosebumps_** is actually the name of a series of scary stories for children." Hitomi explained, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, I grew up in America, so sometimes I tend to drop random English phrases here and there without realizing it."

"Eh_!_? You mean, you're not really Japanese, Hitomi-sempai_!_?" Mai asked, surprised. She (along with pretty much anyone who had eyes) knew Hitomi had to be at least half foreigner with her pale blonde hair and big green eyes, but Mai hadn't heard anything about the famous sempai being a transfer student! "I mean, is Sempai a foreign-exchange student?"

"Not really. I'm originally from America, but I've been living in Japan for the past ten years." Hitomi explained, a wry smile of bemusement gracing her lips. She was kind of amused by Mai's dramatic reaction, but it wasn't really that big of a deal, was it…? "Anyway, we should finish up with the rest of the rooms before Shibuya-san decides to come looking for us. 'Cause you know _that _won't be pretty." Patience did not seem to be listed amongst the virtues the bossy boy-genius possessed today…

"Haha… You've got that right." Mai laughed, smiling wryly, as she tried to picture that scene, with Naru coming after them all in a huff… actually, maybe they _should_ hurry…

—∞—

"We're back." Hitomi announced upon her and Mai's eventual return to the base, causing Naru to glance up at them. They had good timing. He had just finished up on his side, too. "We measured the temperature in each room, just like you asked." Hitomi added, handing the clipboard to him so he could see the results for himself.

"This digital thermometer is pretty handy." Mai said. Hitomi had showed Mai how to use it and let her have a turn taking the last few measurements herself.

"Nothing unusual… the temperature isn't lower in any particular area." Naru said thoughtfully, ignoring Mai, as he read through the data they had recorded for him. "The first floor's a little lower than the other classrooms… but not enough to matter."

"Then, that means there are no spirits here?" Mai asked, tossing the digital thermometer playfully into the air.

"Well, I don't know if we can say that for sure yet…" Hitomi said, sweat-dropping, as she watched Naru snatch the thermometer back from Mai, in midair, and narrowed his eyes reproachfully at her for playing around with the equipment again. She was impressed with his reflexes, but felt kind of sorry for Mai, to be on the receiving end such a withering glare. "… Ghosts can be shy, sometimes."

"Right. It's normal for paranormal phenomena to stop temporarily when an outsider comes in." Naru agreed coolly. "At any rate, this isn't helping us gather information." He added, keeping his eyes on Mai to let her know he was referring to how she kept playing around. Mai stuck her tongue out at him when he turned to set the clipboard and thermometer down on the table behind him. It may not have been the most mature thing to do, but it certainly made her feel better! "First… let's position the infrared cameras: four of them in the first and second floor hallways and one at the entrance."

—∞—

**[Several ridiculously heavy cameras later…]**

"—Ouch. Ah. Oh…" Mai groaned, sweat-dropping, as she rubbed her aching back, bent over in pain. She seriously didn't understand how Naru and Hitomi could still be perfectly fine after all that heavy lifting… Was it just her, or were these two not human…?

"What's wrong, Mai? Did you pull a muscle?" Hitomi asked, concerned. She was used to working out and lifting heavy things for club and at home, but it seems Mai wasn't so fortunate…

"You may go home now." Naru informed them carelessly as he checked the camera's settings one last time and jotted something down on the clipboard. "We're done for today. The cameras will do the rest."

"Seriously, you really don't look like a psychic." Mai told him, miffed by his indifference to her pain.

"**Ghost Hunter**." Naru corrected her. "Don't confuse me with psychics."

"Same thing…" Mai mumbled under her breath.

'Not really.' Hitomi thought, but she didn't really feel like starting a debate with her tired Kohai.

"Well, I'll be leaving now." Mai told them waving weakly as she started to limp away. She didn't get far.

"Okay. Wait, are you going to be okay getting home this late by yourself?" Hitomi asked responsibly, frowning slightly at the idea. What if she ran into a pervert or something?

"Yeah, thanks Hitomi-sempai, but I'll be fine." Mai reassured her, touched that at least _someone_ there cared enough to worry about her safety. "I live pretty close to the school, so I'll be home in no time if I take the bus."

"Are you sure?" Hitomi pressed. She wanted to make sure Mai wasn't just trying to be polite.

"I'm sure." Mai said, smiling slightly as she nodded. Hitomi really was a good sempai, looking out for her like this. "See ya, Hitomi-sempai, Shibuya-san."

"Tomorrow," Naru spoke up suddenly, "after school, I want both of you to meet me in front of the van again." Mai nearly face-faulted.

_'Tomorrow...?'_ Mai thought incredulously. Hadn't he tortured her enough already_!_? Mai opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it. She was too tired for this. But she'd get back at him tomorrow… _somehow_…

"Uh… Bye-bye, Mai-chan… Take care of yourself, okay?" Hitomi called after her, sweat-dropping, as she watched poor Mai trudge wearily down the hallway and out of sight. "So…" She said, turning back to Naru. "Do you want me to drive you home, Shibuya-san? We can also check in on Lin-san, if you want." She offered courteously. After all, his usual designated driver was still laid up in the hospital for now.

Naru stopped writing. He glanced at the older girl. He could tell by the look in her eyes and the expression on her face that she was, by no means, going to leave him alone in a building that was practically falling apart at the seams and possibly haunted. Getting rid of her wasn't going to be that easy. Naru sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"I had been planning to leave the van here overnight rather than go through the trouble of moving it, and I was going to take a taxi after visiting Lin at the hospital. There is something that I want to show him." He explained smoothly.

"Oh, well… in that case, how about we walk to the hospital together?" Hitomi suggested, undiscouraged. "I have to go that way anyway to get to the stop for the bus I usually take home." She lived a lot further away from school than Mai, so it was only natural they took different bus roots.

"Very, well. I'll be finished in a couple of minutes." Naru agreed, deciding to use the situation to his advantage. After all, he still had a number of questions for Matsumoto Hitomi.


	8. Evil Spirits8

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Uh… Bye-bye, Mai-chan… Take care of yourself, okay?" Hitomi called after her, sweat-dropping, as she watched poor Mai trudge wearily down the hallway and out of sight. "So…" She said, turning back to Naru. "Do you want me to drive you home, Shibuya-san? We can also check in on Lin-san, if you want." She offered courteously. After all, his usual designated driver was still laid up in the hospital for now._

_Naru stopped writing. He glanced at the older girl. He could tell by the look in her eyes and the expression on her face that she was, by no means, going to leave him alone in a building that was practically falling apart at the seams and possibly haunted. Getting rid of her wasn't going to be that easy. Naru sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately._

_"I had been planning to leave the van here overnight rather than go through the trouble of moving it, and I was going to take a taxi after visiting Lin at the hospital. There is something that I want to show him." He explained smoothly._

_"Oh, well… in that case, how about we walk to the hospital together?" Hitomi suggested, undiscouraged. "I have to go that way anyway to get to the stop for the bus I usually take home." She lived a lot further away from school than Mai, so it was only natural they took different bus roots._

_"Very, well. I'll be finished in a couple of minutes." Naru agreed, deciding to use the situation to his advantage. After all, he still had a number of questions for Matsumoto Hitomi._

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 8)**

* * *

"So, America or England?" Hitomi asked abruptly once Naru had finished locking up, and they had begun making their way to the hospital, taking him by surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Naru asked calmly as he turned to face her, completely stoic, despite how taken aback he had initially been by her unexpected question. It seemed he wasn't the only one who had been planning to get answers during their walk to the hospital together.

"Oh. Was I wrong? I could have sworn you were a fellow transplant…" Hitomi said, frowning slightly in disappointment and scratching her head. "It's just that some of your idiosyncrasies remind me of me when I first moved to Japan. It took me awhile to adjust to language and customs after growing up in an English-speaking country like America." She explained, smiling wryly.

'Transplant…?' Naru thought, almost sweat-dropping at her odd use of the word. Well, it did make sense, in its own odd way. "What idiosyncrasies?" He asked curiously, taking this new information into account. If Hitomi originally grew up in America, then it would actually explain quite a lot about some of her own atypical behavior… or maybe she was just strange. Naru suspected it was most likely a combination of both.

"Well, for one thing, I noticed you wrote all of your notes in English, and that's not something most native Japanese people would do. I mean, I guess maybe you might if you didn't want just anyone to be able to read them, but I used to do the same when I first started school here, because it was still much easier for me to take notes quickly using my first language. My father' was originally from here, so he taught me how to speak a little Japanese, but I didn't learn how to read or write it until I came to live here ten years ago." She explained, shrugging. "Also, you didn't recognize an extremely common Japanese saying, and you seemed unaware of the age difference required to have a driver's license for a large van like that. While I'm not so sure about England, I do know for a fact that you only have to be at least 15 or 16 in order to get a learner's permit that allows you to drive with an adult in the car. However, even if you are 17 and have a full license, it doesn't work that way in Japan. There's a special license for each category of different sized vehicle, and the needed for that van requires you to be at least 18 before you can even apply for the license. Even a first-year like Mai knows that much."

"Hnh. It seems I underestimated you, Matsumoto-san." Naru complimented her, smirking slightly. Her reasoning skills were sound, but it made him wonder if she had spotted this so easily simply because of her own history, or if it was something anyone with half a brain might notice. If the latter was the case, then Naru couldn't help but be concerned… He was going to have to work on fixing the things she had just mentioned.

"Thanks." She said, smiling brightly, playing it cool. O be honest, even she was having a hard time not being affected by this kid's good looks, especially when he smirked like that… But then something occurred to her. 'Wait… is that a nice way of saying he thought I was stupid…?' It didn't seem like the Shibuya-san she knew to hand out a compliment like that…

**"To be honest, I'm surprised you figured it out so quickly."** Naru admitted, deciding to switch over to English since that particular cat was already out of the bag. He was also somewhat surprised at himself for admitting to it so quickly. He should have tried to dissuade her suspicions, not confirm them.

'So he _did _think I was a bit thick in the head…' Hitomi thought, slightly chagrined. Oh, well. At least hearing him speak a full sentence in English answered her question about his origins. He was definitely English. It was kind of unfair for him to be so smart and attractive and then to have a sexy British accent on top of it all… **"Never underestimate my ability to find stuff out, Mr. Shibuya."** She replied, smirking. **"Not only are you looking at a girl who read too much of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work, but my woman's intuition is topnotch!"**

**"Really, is that so?"** Naru said thoughtfully. Perhaps he should put that to the test once he was finished with the principle's case. **"So, you believe in something as intangible as intuition, yet you don't believe in ghosts?"** He asked, attempting to turn the conversation around and shift the topic away from himself. After all, he had initially agreed to walk with her to get information, not give it away.

**"I never said I didn't."** Hitomi replied easily. **"I do believe ghosts can exist in this world… but I sincerely doubt there are any in that old school building."** Naru raised an eyebrow. She had just spoken with such conviction, that it almost sounded as if she knew something.

**"Is that what your intuition tells you?"** He asked. Hitomi shook her head.

**"No, but… I feel like if there was one, I would have seen it."** She replied a bit hesitantly, looking down. It was then that she noticed the arrow she had shot earlier was sticking out one of the side pockets of his laptop case. **"Oh, that reminds me… You never did tell me why you wanted to film me this afternoon." **Naru's eyes narrowed slightly with suspicion. There was something she wasn't telling him, but it didn't seem wise to push her at the moment, especially since she had just uncovered one his own secrets.

**"I was testing a theory."** He stated simply. He wanted to examine the data he collected on her more closely before voicing his and Lin's suspicions about her possibly having some form of PK, the odds of which, were extremely high. She may even be worth doing a study on…

**"What theory? What did you find?"** Hitomi asked curiously, wondering what could possibly be so interesting about her archery that it would be worth filming to a paranormal investigator.

**"… I'll let you know more when I do, but for now…"** Naru said, pausing as he turned back to face her. **"I have a favor to ask of you."**

**"You want me to shoot another arrow?"** Hitomi guessed, quirking an eyebrow.

**"No, but I would appreciate it if you would refrain from revealing my true origin to anyone else… Unless, you haven't told anyone yet, have you?"** He asked seriously. He really hoped she hadn't told Mai.

**"No. I mean, no, I haven't told anyone… but why keep it a secret?"** She asked curiously.

**"… It would simply make my situation easier if as few people knew about it as possible."** He replied cryptically. She already knew too much. He didn't want to drop anymore bread crumbs that might lead her to discovering more about his situation than she already had.

**"… Okay…?"** Hitomi said, furrowing her brow and tilting her head slightly in confusion. He knew how suspicious that sounded, right? So he was from England—big deal! She was from America. 'Who cares if he's a… _Ah_…' Hitomi thought, coming to a realization. Actually, a lot of people might care. Since Japan was such a homogenous country even now, foreigners still weren't something the average Japanese person was used to seeing, and she had learned they tend to view 'outsiders' with suspicion. She had actually been teased a lot about her blond hair by the other kids when she first moved there, and it had taken over five years before she stopped being 'the new kid from America'. Yeah, she knew firsthand how annoying that could be… though it still felt like she might be missing something… But everyone had their secrets, things they'd rather not talk about… even her. **"Okay."** Hitomi agreed more firmly this time. **"I guess I can keep your secret." **She said, smiling, as she held out her hand to shake on it.

**"I appreciate it."** Naru replied solemnly as he accepted her hand and shook it. He just hoped she would remember to keep her promise.

—∞—

"You were right about her." Naru informed Lin as he entered the older man's room at the hospital.

"… I assume you are referring to Matsumoto Hitomi?" Lin asked calmly. It was nice to see that Naru had managed to return in one piece.

"Yes, and she is also much sharper than I gave her credit for." Naru replied, nodding.

"Most people are." Lin stated dryly. Just because he was a genius, it didn't mean everyone else was an idiot. Naru had the bad habit of forgetting that sometimes, due to the IQ gap between him and the rest of the population.

"Most people can't figure out where we are really from within less than forty-eight hours of meeting us." Naru retorted.

"…'We'? You mean, she knows about… _How?"_ Lin asked gravely, furrowing his brow. It was one thing to recognize that he himself was Chinese, but how could she have figured Naru out? There was no way Naru would ever have told her…

"She recognized a fellow 'transplant'." Naru replied, shrugging. "She used to live in America when she was younger."

"What a remarkable coincidence…" Lin remarked, sweat-dropping. "Do you think we can trust her?"

"That remains to be seen. She has promised not to tell anyone, and she doesn't strike me as the type to break a promise, at least, not intentionally…" Naru said thoughtfully.

"How much _does_ she know?" Lin asked, concerned.

"Just that I've come from England." Naru replied. "It seemed like she wanted to ask more, but had enough manners to refrain from doing so." Lin relaxed slightly, feeling somewhat relieved to hear that. If that was all she knew, then things weren't so bad. "Still, I believe she's worth keeping an eye on. You should take a look at this." Naru told him, getting back to their original topic, as he pulled out his laptop and opened the file for the film of Hitomi shooting an arrow. "Then tell me what you think."

—∞—

**[Friday Morning]**

"Yo~!" Hitomi greeted Naru cheerfully as she walked into the base and waved hello. "What's on our to-do list for today, boss?" She asked curiously.

"I thought I said you didn't have to meet me here until after school." Naru said, glancing up at her from his open laptop. He was half tempted to tell her about his theories on the special ability he had witnessed yesterday, but he and Kin had agreed they should wait to break the news until after they didn't need her help with this case, just in case their little revelation might scare her off. People weren't always thrilled to discover they were psychic.

"Oh, come on. You're not actually going to make me go to class, are you?" She pouted. "It's basically just one long study period for our exams, since we're on a shortened schedule anyway."

"I see, so you _want_ to fail." He commented dryly.

"No. I just don't need to study anymore, because I've already finished taking all of the exams I'm going to take." Hitomi retorted, smiling brightly. "I'm just waiting to hear the results."

"In that case… feel free to start reviewing the audio tapes we recorded yesterday." Naru told her, deciding he might as well put her to work if she was just going to skip class regardless. "I want you to listen for anything that sounds out of the ordinary."

"Like disembodied voices and rapping sounds?" Hitomi asked, smiling wryly.

"Exactly."

—∞—

**[Later, that afternoon…]**

_"Whaaaat!_?" Keiko shouted incredulously.

"Then Shibuya-san isn't a transfer student_!_?" Michiru asked, shocked.

"No, no. That was just a lie." Mai replied, waving it off.

"Hey, Taniyama-san." Kuroda spoke up suddenly, calling herself to their attention.

'Oops…' Mai thought, sweat-dropping. Here comes trouble…

"So, is he a psychic?" Kuroda asked. "I heard he came here to do research on the old school building."

"He says he's not a psychic… He's a 'ghost hunter'." Mai replied, wondering if it was okay to tell her. Then again, maybe Kuroda-san might end up annoying Naru a little for her. That would be nice.

"A ghost hunter?" Kuroda asked skeptically.

"So, what's the difference?" Michiru asked. Weren't they like the same thing?

"Don't know." Mai said, shrugging. She vaguely remembered Hitomi-sempai explaining it to her yesterday, but she couldn't remember any of it at the moment. "Ah, that's right. Hitomi-sempai is working with us, too. She said the principal asked her to help out."

'Eh_!_? Hitomi-sempai, too_!_?" Keiko shouted.

"She's a very pretty sempai…" Michiru said, sighing. She doubted any of them would stand a chance against her…

"Wait, why would the principal ask Hitomi-sempai to do it? Aren't the third-years busy with their college exams?" Keiko asked dubiously.

"Oh, yeah! If any third-year was going to do it, you'd think it would be the student council president, since he's supposed to be the school's representative." Michiru said thoughtfully.

"That's true… but Hitomi-sempai didn't seem to be worried about any of that at all…" Mai agreed, suddenly realizing how odd it was. "I'll try asking her about it when I see her today."

"Ooh! Can you get me her autograph?" Michiru asked excitedly.

"Eh? Ah, um… yeah, sure… I guess?" Mai agreed hesitantly, a little taken aback by her friend's request. She hadn't realized Michiru was one of Hitomi-sempai's fans…

"…" Kuroda said as she watched the three friends chatter away as if she wasn't even there. Were they trying to ignore her? "Taniyama-san." She said a little louder this time to get their attention back. "Can you introduce me to him?"

_"Huh?"_ Mai asked, nearly falling out of her chair. She was stunned. Was Kuroda serious? Did she know what she was getting into, trying to get involved with that jerk_!_?

"You know I'm psychic, right? Maybe I can help him." Kuroda suggested hopefully. Mai sweat-dropped.

"Um, I don't think you should get involved with him. He doesn't like to deal with amateurs." She said reasonably, trying to warn her.

"I'm no amateur myself!" Kuroda snapped. If Shibuya-san didn't mind having two amateurs like Taniyama-san and Matsumoto-sempai around, then a _real_ psychic should be a welcome addition…!

Mai's eyes widened slightly. _Whoa._

"But Naru-chan is a professional. He even has an office." Mai tried to explain.

"Hey, Mai, why do you call him 'Naru-chan'_!_?" Keiko demanded, suddenly suspicious that Mai was cheating and getting ahead of her and Michiru on the flirting front.

"Huh… Oh, it's because he's an extreme narcissist. So, 'Naru-chan', for short." Mai explained, smiling wryly as she sweat-dropped. "He's also not a very nice person."

"Yes. He's cute, but he has a sharp tongue." Hitomi commented sagely as she nodded her head, causing them all to whip their heads around so the could see her. She had plopped herself down at the desk behind Mai and was very casually resting her head on her hands, as though she had been there the whole time. "You have an awesome naming-sense, by the way. I wish I had come with 'Naru-chan'. _It's ingenious_." She added, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"… Eh? _H-Hitomi-sempai!_? _H-How long have you been there!_?" Mai shouted incredulously as she and her friends blushed, suddenly feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Oh, nice reaction there, Mai-chan~!" Hitomi applauded her, smiling sweetly as she clapped. "Don't worry, I haven't been here long. I just thought I'd wait and see how long it took you to notice me. I came to pick you up and make sure you didn't escape on your own." Mai sweat-dropped. Well, she had to admit, she _had_ considered it once or twice since discovering his true character…

"Haha… see? Even Sempai agrees with me." Mai said, laughing feebly. She hoped Sempai wouldn't mention what she had just heard to Naru… "So if you don't act all serious, he won't be nice to you…" Mai continued as she turned to address Kuroda, trailing off when she realized the other girl had already treated back to her own desk, across the room, without even saying anything. Awkward…

"She's always been like that." Keiko remarked. "Ever since middle school, she's been known for being a weirdo."

"Ah, was Kuroda-san in the same class track as you, Keiko?" Mai asked.

"Yeah. She's always going on about how she has spiritual sensitivity and stuff." Keiko said, nodding.

"Hmm…" Mai and Hitomi hummed thoughtfully as they glanced back at Kuroda. So this had been going on for awhile, now…

"Hey, you don't think she's fallen in love with Shibuya-san at first sight, do you?" Michiru asked Keiko.

"No way! Stop it!" Keiko laughed.

"Must be tough, if she's really psychic." Hitomi said quietly, just barely loud enough for Mai to hear.

"Huh?" Mai asked, looking back at her sempai, confused. 'Was it just me, or did Hitomi-sempai sound a little sad just now…?' She wondered.

"Oh, well. Let's go, Mai. Naru-chan awaits us~" Hitomi said cheerfully, winking playfully, acting as though everything were just peachy-keen.

"Yeah, okay…" Mai agreed hesitantly, pausing to glance back at Kuroda one last time before following her out of the classroom. 'Hmm… I can't quite figure her out. I'd probably be better off not getting involved with her…" Mai thought.


	9. Evil Spirits9

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Must be tough, if she's really psychic." Hitomi said quietly, just barely loud enough for Mai to hear._

_"Huh?" Mai asked, looking back at her sempai, confused. 'Was it just me, or did Hitomi-sempai sound a little sad just now…?' She wondered._

_"Oh, well. Let's go, Mai. Naru-chan awaits us~" Hitomi said cheerfully, winking playfully, acting as though everything were just peachy-keen._

_"Yeah, okay…" Mai agreed hesitantly, pausing to glance back at Kuroda one last time before following her out of the classroom. 'Hmm… I can't quite figure her out. I'd probably be better off not getting involved with her…" Mai thought._

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 9)**

* * *

"Oh, are you still looking over that stuff, Shibuya-san?" Hitomi asked as she and Mai approached the van, surprised. Naru was sitting in the back with the clipboard, checking something. She thought they had covered everything already, but it seems that wasn't necessarily the case…

"Hello…" Mai greeted him, peeking over Hitomi's shoulder, almost as though she were using the older girl as a human shield. "What are you doing?"

"Reviewing the data we collected yesterday." Naru replied calmly. He was almost finished. Even with Hitomi's help it had taken forever to go through all twenty-four hours' worth of footage and sound for all the different cameras and mikes.

"Did you find anything?" Mai asked curiously.

"Nope. Just several hours of boredom." Hitomi said, sighing regretfully. It had been like Chinese water torture having to watch and listen to so much _nothing_ all at once.

"There was nothing unusual. Either there are no ghosts, or they are hiding for now… So there doesn't appear to be any danger at present." Naru elaborated, for Mai's sake.

"Well, that's some fancy equipment you've got there!" A woman commented loudly from behind, causing the three teens to turn and look to see who was approaching them now. "Those toys seem too high-class for a child to be playing with." The woman added, smirking. She had long, dark-red hair, a sophisticated demeanor, and she was dressed too well to be your average teacher or office lady. And she wasn't alone. Following just on her heels was a tall, handsome, and casually dressed man with pierced ears. He had his bleached hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"And you are?" Naru inquired, unfazed.

"I'm Matsuzaki Ayako. Nice to meet you." She introduced herself smoothly, flashing them a confident and attractive smile.

"I'm not interested in your name." Naru stated bluntly, getting straight to the point. Ayako's face flushed slightly in embarrassment, while the man behind her, Mai, and Hitomi tried not to laugh.

"You're pretty sassy, aren't you, little boy? But handsome." Ayako admitted grudgingly, clearly chagrined.

"Thanks." Naru stated dryly, unfazed by her left-handed compliment.

"But you can't exorcise spirits with your face, you know." She added snarkly .

"Does that mean you're in the same business?" Hitomi asked, raising an eyebrow, while Naru narrowed his eyes slightly, getting a bit more serious. They exchanged a glance. The principal hadn't mentioned anything about this to either one of them.

"You could say that." Ayako replied smugly, smirking at the varying looks of surprise on the three teens' faces. "I'm a miko."

"…" Hitomi deadpanned, allowing her disbelief to show plainly on her face. Seriously? This woman looked old enough to be her mother. And since when did miko go around wearing such heavy makeup and perfume?

"I thought you had to be a pure and innocent young lady in order to become a miko." Naru stated dryly, also deadpanning.

"Pfft!" Mai snickered, covering her mouth with her hand. Hitomi was leaning against the van, holding her sides as she shook. She had skipped right from normal laughter to the stage where one laughs so hard, no sound comes out, and you will look like a retarded clapping seal if you aren't careful. She totally hadn't been expecting that one, even though she probably should have, with Naru being Naru and all…

"_Oh…_? Is that not how I look to you?" Ayako asked angrily, blushing, as multiple veins throbbed on her forehead.

'No! Don't do it—_Don't tempt him!_' Hitomi cried internally as tears began to form in her eyes from laughing so much.

"For starters, I'd say you look a bit too old to be 'innocent'." Naru retorted. "And you wear too much makeup to be 'pure'." The man behind the self-proclaimed miko finally burst into laughter out loud, unable to hold back any longer. He was in complete agreement with Naru!

"!" Ayako exclaimed, turning beet red. _This brat…!_!

"B-Breathe, Hitomi-sempai…!" Mai told the older girl in between snickers, trying to help keep her from falling over. Hitomi's face was starting to change colors from laughing so hard without oxygen.

"And you?" Naru said, turning his attention to laughing man. "You don't appear to be Matsuzaki-san's assistant."

"No kidding." The man said, pulling himself together so he could reply.

"I'm Takigawa Houshou, a monk from the Koyasan sect."

"When did they start allowing long hair on Mt. Koya?" Naru asked skeptically.

"He's an apostate." Ayako chimed in, taking another drag on the cigarette she had obviously felt she needed after suffering such a huge blow to her ego at the hands of Naru a moment ago. Seriously, there was nothing miko-like about her. Takigawa sweat-dropped.

"I-I've just come down off the mountain for now!" He retorted agitatedly, clearly flustered after being called out. "At any rate, children's playtime is over."

"Ahem. Um, does it _look_ like we're playing around to you?" Hitomi asked rhetorically, clearing her throat, now that she had managed to calm down. "This is some serious equipment here."

"Regardless, we'll take it from here." Takigawa told her before turning back to Naru. "The principal told me he no longer had any confidence in you, and who could blame him? You're only seventeen."

"So what? Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and he dropped out of school after only three months of formal education." Hitomi retorted. Takigawa was a bit taken aback to have such an obscure fact thrown back him, but he quickly recovered.

"By the way, the principal thought Shibuya-san's company was established and trustworthy because the office was located in a nice, prestigious neighborhood like Shibuya." The monk continued, not one to back down. "But he mistook your name for the location, and once he found out the 'president's' age, he couldn't help but think your business might be a fraud, so he decided to call in the professionals."

'Personally, I think these two are much more suspicious than 'Naru-chan', here…' Hitomi thought, sweat-dropping. What on earth was the principal thinking…? She wasn't sure what she could say at this point that wouldn't just get her into trouble if it got back to the principal. After all, setting up this little three-ringed circus had been his idea.

"Is that so?" Naru asked calmly, flipping to the next page on the clipboard, as though he wasn't even the slightest bit bothered.

'That's all?' Takigawa thought, surprised by their lack of response. Should he be relieved or insulted that they hadn't thought him worth the trouble…?

"But the principal is also overreacting," Ayako cut in casually, running a hand through her hair, "gathering so many people to work on such a crappy building."

"That's right. I would've been enough." Takigawa said, smirking.

"Well, we'll see about that." Ayako replied slyly. "By the way, little boy, what's your name?"

"Shibuya Kazuya." Naru replied simply.

'They're not going to ask about me and Mai? What are we, chopped liver?' Hitomi wondered, slightly chagrined.

"Never heard of you. You must be third-class." Takigawa said.

"I've never heard of Takigawa Houshou, either." Ayako commented.

"Well, you need to study harder. Actually, I've never heard of Matsuzaki whomever, either." He retorted, chagrined.

"Maybe _you'd_ better study harder!" She snapped, vein throbbing on her forehead.

'Hey, hey… are all psychics this twisted…?' Mai wondered, sweat-dropping, as she shared a look with Hitomi, who also seemed dubious of the two arguing 'adults'.

CRUNCH.

"Hm?" Hitomi said, glancing up, when she heard someone approaching.

"Taniyama-san. Matsumoto-sempai." Kuroda called out to the two girls, raising her hand in a weak sort of half-wave.

'Rggh!' Mai thought, reeling back in surprise. Did she follow them there? Was she stalking them now_!_?

"Oh, hello, Kuroi-san~!" Hitomi greeted the normally antisocial girl, smiling a little too innocently as she waved back.

"Ah, her name is 'Kuroda', Sempai, not 'Kuroi'…" Mai corrected her, sweat-dropping.

"Eh, is that so?" Hitomi asked calmly, still smiling, as she lowered her hand. Oops.

"Ah, thank goodness!' Kuroda exclaimed, sighing with relief, as she approached them, deciding to ignore Hitomi's awkward mistake. "I've been troubled lately because the old school house is such a nest of evil spirits."

"What did you… just say?" Ayako asked, furrowing her brow slightly, as she and Takigawa stared at the bespectacled grandstander.

"I'm very psychic…" Kuroda repeated anxiously, "and I've been having trouble…"

_"You crave attention, don't you."_ Ayako stated bluntly.

"… Huh?" Kuroda said nervously, confused by her confrontational attitude.

"You want to be in the spotlight? Do you want people's attention that badly?" Ayako demanded.

"You—You don't have to say it like that!" Mai shouted defensively, stepping in between them. She might not be Kuroda's biggest fan, but wasn't that a bit too harsh?

"I'm only telling the truth." Ayako stated matter-of-factly. "That girl has no spiritual sensitivity. She just wants to stand out."

"So what?" Hitomi asked calmly, crossing her arms, as she narrowed her eyes slightly at Ayako. "Regardless of whether she wants attention or not, it has no bearing on her actual ability, does it? Who are you to say she isn't psychic? How would _you _know?"

"Hitomi-sempai…" Mai said, glad to know the older girl had her kohai's backs.

"If you look at her, it's easy to tell." Ayako huffed stubbornly. "Like I said, she just wants to get attention." She'd run into Kuroda's type time and time again. It was so annoying when fake psychics tried to pass themselves off as the real thing and interfere with her work!

"_Matsuzaki-san_…" Hitomi said sternly, furrowing her brow as she fixed the older woman with a sharp stare, warning her to back off. But, just then, they heard a low, wicked laugh behind them. It was Kuroda.

_"How dare…"_ She muttered angrily. Her face was cast partially in shadow as she glared eerily at the miko. "—Whatever… But I really do have strong psychic power. I'm going to summon an evil spirit, and have it possess you."

"Kuroda-san…?" Hitomi said, frowning. Oh, great it looks like she was too late stepping in. 'I think Matsuzaki-san just pulled the pin on her crazy grenade…'

"Very strong… really." Kuroda mumbled darkly.

"!" Mai said, flinching. The way Kuroda kept staring so intensely at Ayako sent shivers up her spine. It was as if Kuroda had suddenly become a completely different person…

"You fake miko… You'll soon regret this." Kuroda told the older woman ominously as she turned to leave.

"Kuroda-san!" Mai called out, moving to follow her, but Hitomi placed a hand on Mai's shoulder, stopping her. Hitomi shook her head.

"Just let her go, Mai." Hitomi advised her. Nothing they could say was going to get through to her right now.

"But… that was a seriously scary look in her eyes just now… wasn't it?" Mai asked a little nervously, concerned.

"Yeah. She just earned herself a crazy card, laminated with a gold star and everything." Hitomi agreed bluntly, shattering the tense atmosphere.

_"Wha?"_ Mai exclaimed, shocked to hear such brutal honesty. Hadn't Hitomi-sempai just been defending Kuroda…_!_?

"But, right now, we've got bigger fish to fry. Right, Mai-chan?" Hitomi said, smiling wryly, as she nodded her head towards their handsome, narcissistic boss.

"R-Right!" Mai said, shaking her head to clear it of any remaining bad thoughts. That's right. Nevermind Kuroda, they still had that Naru to deal with! "Hey, Naru-chan, what do you want us to do today?" She called out to him. Shibuya Kazuya froze, visibly stiffening at the use of the nickname.

"Ah! _Mai—!_?" Hitomi hissed lowly, her eyes widening in horror and realization, as she did an excellent impression of _The Scream_ by Munch. _Crap._

"—What… did you call me…?" He asked, glancing up from his laptop to stare at the girls with wide eyes, stunned. How did she…? Did Hitomi…? _But that was impossible…_

"Heh…?" Mai said, confused. She had yet to realize her dangerous blunder.

"Did you just call me 'Naru'?" He asked sternly, taking a step towards them.

"Oops! Oh, darn. S-S… Sorry, I…" Mai stammered nervously, taking a step back, while Hitomi sweat-dropped and smiled a little tensely, both preparing to bolt if he were to suddenly turn homicidal…

"Where did you hear that?" He demanded.

"Eh? You mean, other people call you that, too?" Hitomi asked, surprised.

"Hah!" Mai laughed, suddenly regaining her confidence upon realizing they weren't alone. "Just as I thought, other people had the same idea! Naru-cissistic Naru-chan~!" She exclaimed, grinning, as she began repeatedly clapping him on the arm.

"… Huh?" Naru said, feeling slightly chagrined as he furrowed his brow. What was she talking about...?

'Huh? Why do I get the feeling that's not right…?' Hitomi thought, sweat-dropping. If 'Naru-chan' wasn't short for narcissist, then what _was_ it short for…? She figured the nickname was more than likely something English, since it had been used before, and that's where Naru originally hailed from… She shrugged. 'Oh, well. No point in worrying about that now, I guess.' At least it looked like he was going to let them get away with it for now. Besides, she had already promised him she would keep the whole England thing under wraps. "A-Anyway, what are we going to do next today, Naru-chan?" She asked, deciding to change the subject to something less precarious, though she just couldn't resist using his new nickname. It was just too perfect!

"Well…" Naru began, deciding to let it go for now. At least they weren't questioning him about his little slip-up. For a minute, he had honestly thought they might have figured out the truth about him, but it looked like their new nickname for him was just yet another uncanny coincidence. "Because there has been no reaction from the spirits, there's not much we can do at the moment… but Mai's sempai…"

"Hm?" Hitomi said, perking up instinctively upon hearing the word 'sempai'.

"Not you, Hitomi. I was referring to the other third-year student, who supposedly saw a ghost in the window." Naru explained, wondering how she could alternate so freely between being sharp as a tack one minute, and then begin acting like a natural space-case the next.

"Ah, you just dropped honorifics with us!" Mai protested.

"The two of you did it earlier yourselves, didn't you?" Naru pointed out.

'Well, actually a nickname with an honorific attached is a bit different than _completely_ dropping an honorific attached to someone's name...' Hitomi thought, smiling wryly, as she sweat-dropped. Maybe, he just felt more comfortable not having to use honorifics since he wasn't used to them?

"Uh…" Mai grimaced, trying to think of a good comeback. "But… aren't you upset, Sempai?" She asked, turning to Hitomi for support.

"No, not really." Hitomi replied, smiling pleasantly, completely nonplussed now that she was over the initial feeling of surprise. Actually, it felt a bit nostalgic to be called the same way she used to be while growing up in America...

"O-Oh, is that so…?" Mai asked, sweat-dropping. Hitomi-sempai was a little _too_ tolerant sometimes…

"So, do you happen to know which classroom your sempai saw the human silhouette in?" Naru asked Mai, pressing the girls to get back on track.

"Well… I think it was in the far west corner of the building, on the second floor." Mai said thoughtfully, hoping she was remembering correctly.

"Okay, let's set the equipment up in there." Naru said decisively. He was about to pull some of the necessary equipment out and hand it to them, when the monk spoke up.

"Oh. Hey, that's…" Takigawa trailed off, puzzled, when he realized the principal was walking towards them, and he wasn't alone. Was the principal bringing yet _another_ person into this…?

'Huh…?' Mai thought, glancing over her shoulder to see what he was talking about. 'That's the principal… and… huh? A foreigner_!_?' Mai stared at the blonde, blue-eyed boy, just as stunned as the miko and monk. It wasn't everyday you saw a bonafide foreigner! While the others were getting all worked up, the two transplants from less homogenous countries, Naru and Hitomi, were both cool as cucumbers.

'I wonder what this one is supposed to be…?' Hitomi thought curiously. Didn't they have more than enough people already?

"Hello, everyone." The principal greeted them. "How are things coming along? We have one more guest joining us. I'd like you to meet John Brown-san." The handsome blonde smiled kindly.

"Hello." He greeted them with a heavy Kansai accent, bowing deeply at a full 45° angle. For a moment, they all just stared at poor John, speechless and flabbergasted by the odd display. They clearly had _not _been expecting _that_. "I'm John Brown. It's a pleasure to meet you." John continued brightly, giving them all another sunny smile as he straightened up again, completely oblivious to how odd he looked and sounded to the average Tokyoite.

"Ah, uh, you see… Apparently, Brown-san learned Japanese down in the Kansai area…" The principal explained, feeling sorry for the young man when he noticed the others were struggling to hold in their laughter. Even Hitomi had to bite her lip to keep from cracking. Only Naru was unaffected.

"I-I see… Nice to meet you, Brown-san." Hitomi said politely and returned his bow, remembering her manners. The principal smiled slightly at her, glad that she was behaving appropriately as a student of his school.

"Ah, that reminds me, Matsumoto-kun… I'd like to have a word with you." He said suddenly, startling her. Hitomi flinched guiltily.

'Eh_!_? He's not going to yell at me for skipping class, is he…?' She wondered, nervously. "Uh, sure… I mean, yes, sir…" She replied dutifully, drooping slightly, as she followed after him so they could chat a short distance away, preparing herself for the worst. Naru shook his head as he watched her go. He had a feeling this would happen.

"Uwah! Poor Hitomi-sempai…" Mai said sympathetically, quickly sobering up.

"She should have seen this coming." Naru remarked stoically, as though it had nothing to do with him. Mai sweat-dropped.

'This jerk… isn't he even the slightest bit worried about Sempai_!_?' Mai thought, chagrined.

—∞—

"Matsumoto-kun." The principal said, stopping once they had reached a suitable distance. "I'm glad to see you taking the duty I assigned you so seriously, but don't forget to check in with your homeroom teacher first. We're expecting to get the results back from the second round of exams you and the other students just completed any day now." He chided her patiently. Hitomi blinked.

'Eh…? Was that all he wanted to say? I thought I was actually in trouble for a moment…' She thought, sweat-dropping as she released a small sigh of relief. "O-Oh… is that all? Thank you for warning me…" She said, smiling wryly. However, there was something else that was still bothering her… "But, um… may I ask you a question, sir?"

"Yes?" He asked pleasantly.

"Uh, I don't mean to sound impertinent, but is it really okay to hire so many people to investigate the old school building? Isn't Shibuya-san enough?" She asked cautiously. "… Won't this put a bit of a strain on the school budget?" The principal's eyes widened slightly in surprise for a moment, but then he smiled and laughed, as though he found something about her questions amusing.

"Haha! I see, so that's what you were concerned about!" He said carelessly, patting her on the shoulder. "Matsumoto-sensei must be proud to have such a conscientious granddaughter! No, no. Don't worry about that. Actually, thanks to your high scores on the first round of testing for Todai, our budget has been greatly increased! Haha! You should have seen the look on the face of Hibiya's Ueda-sensei when I told him the news! Keep up the good work, Matsumoto-kun." He explained, winking conspiratorially at her, before finally heading back to his office, leaving behind a dumbfounded Hitomi.

"Eh… So, it's _my _fault…_!_?" She exclaimed, sweat-dropping. Is that why the principal had been so lenient with her? She glanced back in the direction of Naru and the others. Perhaps, she would keep that particular detail to herself…

—∞—

"Pfft! Hey, hey… you shouldn't laugh at him…" Ayako admonished Takigawa in between giggles.

"Ku-ku-kuh! You're laughing, too!" Takigawa reminded her as they huddled together by the van, trying to get ahold of themselves, while Naru and Mai talked to the funny foreigner.

"Brown-san? Where are you from?" Naru asked curiously, wondering how careful he was going to have to be around John, since it had been so easy for Hitomi to (partially) figure him out. There was also a strange lilt to John's Japanese, in addition to the Kansai accent.

"I'm from Australia." John replied pleasantly.

"Hey, dude! I'm begging you. Please don't speak in such a weird Kyoto dialect_!_!" Takigawa exclaimed as his laughter increased in volume. "Kukuku! Heehee!" This guy was killing him!

"Y-You don't have to laugh so hard…" Mai told him, sweat-dropping, smiling wryly. To be honest, she was having trouble not laughing, as well.

"But, if I want to speak politely, shouldn't I speak in a Kyoto dialect?" John asked politely, confused.

"Dahahaha! The Kyoto dialect is just one of many! Trust me on this, you need to stop, okay?" Takigawa laughed, holding his sides while he leaned against the van for support.

"Okay…" John said, sounding a little uncertain. "Then, I'll try to speak a more casually. Are all of you psychics?" He asked, changing the cadence of his speech. It only made things worse.

_"Heeeh! I told you man, you gotta stop it!"_ Takigawa shouted, nearly bowled over with laughter. _He was doing this on purpose…! He had to be!_!

"You might say that…" Naru replied, deciding to ignore the laughing 'adults'. "How about you?"

"I see. I'm an **Exorcist**." John said, smiling.

'Ah…' Mai thought, surprised, when Takigawa and Ayako abruptly froze, looking completely serious again.

"In Catholicism, I believe you have to be ranked higher than a priest to become an **Exorcist**. You're very young, even to be a priest." Naru remarked. One had to be at least eighteen in order to become ordained.

"You are very knowledgeable." John complimented him. "You're right, I'm nineteen-years-old. I just look young for my age." He was delighted to discover they were familiar with his religion. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, bowing to Naru again out of respect.

'Nineteen_!_?' Mai mentally exclaimed, sweat-dropping. 'You mean, he's older than both Naru _and_ Hitomi-sempai_!_?' Although, come to think of it, Hitomi also looked younger than her actual age… was it maybe because both she and John had bigger, rounder eyes…?


	10. Evil Spirits10

Author's note: I know I said I was probably going to follow the anime mostly, but it looks like I'll actually be following the manga more closely. I'm also starting to lean more towards a HitomiXNaru pairing... Sorry if I've disappointed everyone. (^_^;)

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"In Catholicism, I believe you have to be ranked higher than a priest to become an **Exorcist**. You're very young, even to be a priest." Naru remarked. One had to be at least eighteen in order to become ordained._

_"You are very knowledgeable." John complimented him. "You're right, I'm nineteen-years-old. I just look young for my age." He was delighted to discover they were familiar with his religion. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, bowing to Naru again out of respect._

_'Nineteen!?' Mai mentally exclaimed, sweat-dropping. 'You mean, he's older than both Naru and Hitomi-sempai!?' Although, come to think of it, Hitomi also looked younger than her actual age… was it maybe because both she and John had bigger, rounder eyes…?_

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 10)**

* * *

"So, your equipment… you have quite a collection of expensive gear." Ayako commented as she, Takigawa, and John followed Naru and Mai into their base. "How unfortunate that all of your efforts have been in vain." Mai frowned at the miko in annoyance at the way she so casually tried to dismiss their efforts. Who did she think she was_!_?

"I'm impressed. The president of a research center, with all of this professional equipment. He must know what he's doing." Takigawa said, reevaluating his opinion of Naru somewhat while he watched the stoic boy get straight to work, checking the different monitors. It still sounded like the monk was teasing them a bit, though.

"Did you come here to play or to find a ghost?" Naru asked coolly.

"Agh! This is why I don't like kids!" Ayako ranted as she stomped out of the room, vein throbbing on her forehead. Takigawa sighed and strolled out after her with his hands clasped behind his head, it seemed he had also decided to attempt to just take care of the haunted building by himself. John, however, hesitated.

"Aren't we all here to work together?" He asked, fidgeting nervously. Was it a good idea to separate like this? "Uh, I feel a bit awkward. I'd like to help, so do you mind if I stay?" John asked timidly.

"Please do." Naru replied calmly.

"Hey, guys. I'm back..." Hitomi announced, smiling wryly, as she finally rejoined them. "… And I've returned in one piece, amazingly."

"Ah, Hitomi sempai! Are you alright? Did you get scolded?" Mai asked, concerned. Their principal was normally a pretty nice man, but legend had it he would turn into a demon incarnate mad if you made him mad…

"Haha. No… but I think I unintentionally caught a glimpse of the politics behind the education system in this country…" Hitomi replied, sweat-dropping, as she laughed awkwardly. "I saw something I didn't want to see…" For some reason, it felt like she had just pulled the false beard off of a fake Santa… "So, what did I miss?"

"O-Oh… is that so?" Mai asked, sweat-dropping. She wasn't really sure she understood what Hitomi was talking about, but it sounded like she'd witnessed something unfortunate... "Well, it turns out Brown-san is an Exorcist, and he's going to be helping us out… but Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san apparently decided to work independently…" Mai explained, smiling wryly, as she remembered how the Miko had stormed out after Naru offended her. Naru was almost tempted to ask Hitomi to clarify what she meant, but decided against it. The odd senior was probably just exaggerating.

"Oh, you're a Catholic priest, Brown-san?" Hitomi asked, perking up. He must be older than he looked, then. "Wow… this is my first time meeting such a young priest, and you're a real-live Exorcist, to boot!" This was turning out to be a super interesting group of people the principal had gathered here…

"I'm nineteen, so I can't help but look young." John said a bit bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. Such an enthusiastic reaction…!

"Haha, so you're a year older than me, then~!" Hitomi said, laughing lightly, as she smiled up at the young priest.

"Haha, I guess we both look young for our ages, then~!" John said, returning her sunny smile. If this were a manga, there would be flowers blooming out the top of their heads. Their combined innocence was so blinding, that Mai had to shield her eyes and look away for a moment… or maybe it was just the glare of the sunlight that was streaming in through the windows and reflecting off of their shiny blonde heads…

"Hey, what's this? This image…" Mai asked Naru, pointing at one of the monitors when she noticed something was different about the picture on the screen. The only answer Mai received for her trouble was a palpable glare of irritation. Mai flinched, somewhat taken aback.

'Agh! What's _his_ problem...?' She wondered, chagrined. Hitomi glanced at the screen and sweat-dropped, instantly understanding the situation. Naru had most likely been annoyed, because Mai had just asked him about something they had already explained to her the other day…

"I believe it's a thermographic image." John said, coming to the rescue, as he leaned over to take a look. "The yellow represents higher temperatures, and, in contrast, the blue represents the lower temperatures."

"Thank you. You're kind, Brown-san." Mai told the priest, sending sardonically Naru a sardonic glare. Unfortunately, he just ignored her.

"It was nothing… and you can just call me John." John said humbly, blushing shyly, while he rubbed the back of his neck.

'Aww…' The two girls thought simultaneously, smiling contentedly. He was kind of cute… adorable, even. He reminded Hitomi of the fuzzy little teddy bear from that fabric softener commercial…

Hitomi glanced at another monitor when she thought she saw movement in it out the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened when she saw what was on the screen.

_"—Naru!"_ She shouted as she pointed at it, startled. _Was this for real!_?

_"!"_ Mai gasped, shocked, as she, Naru, and John all turned to take a look for themselves. There, approaching the camera by the old shoe cubbies on the first floor, was a pale girl, kimono clad girl, with short, black hair. Although watching the girl silently approach the camera over the monitor was somewhat eerie, Hitomi couldn't help but be reminded of the Ichimatsu doll her grandfather had given to her after she first came to live with him… The girl glanced briefly at the camera before continuing on her way, giving them a glimpse of her pretty face. Naru's eyes widened slightly in recognition.

"Ah… what was that…?" Mai asked nervously when the girl passed by the camera and disappeared from view.

_SQEEEK…_

The old sliding door to the base slowly inched open again, revealing the living Ichimatsu doll, in the flesh.

_"—!_!" Mai yelled in alarm, instinctively latching on to the nearest person, which just so happened to be John.

"Mai-san. It's okay, she's not a ghost." John said gently, trying to soothe the poor girl's frazzled nerves.

"… Ah~!" Hitomi exclaimed, hitting her hand on her palm, as her eyes lit up with realization after taking another look at the stranger's face. There was also another reason why she looked so familiar…!

"The principal must really want to demolish this building pretty badly if he invited you." Naru told the newcomer, smirking slightly, as he leaned back against the table. To think he would go through the trouble of inviting _her_…

"Seriously…" Hitomi said, smiling wryly. Was there gold buried under the foundation or something?

_"You know her!_?" Mai asked them, surprised.

"… Don't you?" Hitomi asked back, raising an eyebrow. There wasn't a person in Hitomi's class who didn't know who the medium was, but then again, that was partially due to the fact that the classmates of 3–A were abnormally (and sometimes obnoxiously) close to each other. If one person became interested in something, then the rest of the class would know about it before lunch. Hitomi didn't watch her show, but she had seen an article about the famous medium in one of her classmate's magazines once before.

"That's Hara Masako, the psychic medium." Naru stated knowingly. According to his research, she should be one of the best mediums in Japan. He was surprised the principal was able to get someone as famous as her to come.

"Psychic medium?" Mai asked, tilting her head slightly.

"It basically means she can sense and communicate with spirits and ghosts." Hitomi explained.

"Really? Wow…" Mai said, amazed and somewhat skeptical at the same time. 'Isn't this a bit much…? But how often do I get to meet so many celebrities? Hitomi-sempai, who's a major school idol… Naru-chan, who's a ghost hunter… A miko-san and a bou-san (monk)… John, who is a priest… A psychic medium… is it that serious that five professionals had to come here?' she wondered, swallowing the nervous lump that had started to form in her throat. '… I think someone's in serious trouble…'

_BAAM!_

_"KYAAAAAH!"_

They all flinched, startled by the shrill scream that suddenly echoed through the halls. Mai shuddered as Kuroda's ominous words came back to her:

_'There are ghosts in the old school building…'_

_"What was that!_?" Takigawa demanded as he came running back.

"It sounded like Matsuzaki-san's voice." John said.

"It sounded like it came from a few doors over!" Hitomi exclaimed and quickly followed Naru and John out the room. Mai and Masako decided to chase after them as well.

_BAM! BAM!_

Someone was banging on one of the doors further down the hall.

"Over there." Naru said, leading the way.

_BAM!BAM!_

_"Open up! Please open this door!"_ Ayako shouted anxiously as she continued to beat her fists against the door. Naru stepped forward to let her out, but the door stuck fast. He couldn't budge it.

"Strange." He commented, wondering why it refused to open.

"Let me try." Takigawa said, taking over. No matter how hard he pushed, he just couldn't seem to get it to open either.

"Why won't it open?" Hitomi asked, puzzled. "There isn't even a lock on that door…"

"Either way, it won't open." Takigawa said, gritting his teeth. _"I'm going to have to kick it in! Stand back, Ayako!"_

_"Hey, you don't drop honorifics with me!"_ She shouted back at him, chagrined.

"One, two…!" Takigawa counted off, backing up so he could swing his foot up at the door and kick it down.

_WHAAAM!_

"Heee!" Mai flinched, covering her ears, as the door gave way to the monk's mighty kick.

_CRACK!_

Hitomi let out a low whistle of appreciation when the door fell back and hit the ground with a thud, sending up a cloud of dust. Just inside the room stood a somewhat startled, but relatively unharmed miko.

—∞—

Ayako sighed as she popped the top on the can of juice Hitomi had gotten for her from a vending machine that wasn't too far away. All that screaming had made her throat dry.

"I was checking out the classroom when, all of a sudden, the door closed by itself and wouldn't open." Ayako explained, pausing to take a sip of juice.

"… I that all?" Hitomi asked, raising an eyebrow. She screamed like bloody murder just because a door closed? Wasn't she supposed to be a professional?

"What do you mean, 'Is that all?'—What's with that disappointed expression on your face_!_? Ayako demanded hotly, vein throbbing on her forehead.

"Nothing. It's just that I've seen scarier things come out of the tap water at home…" Hitomi deadpanned.

"You…! _Don't tell such an obvious lie!_" Ayako shouted indignantly, fuming.

"You sure you didn't close it yourself?" Takigawa asked her, smiling wryly.

_"Yes, I'm sure!"_ Ayako snapped, vein mark throbbing on her head. _"There's definitely something in here."_ She insisted.

"I don't sense it at all." Masako stated calmly. "There are no spirits in this building."

_"Who do you think you are?"_ Ayako demanded. "You're making light of my being a psychic, aren't you_!_?"

"Aren't you a little embarrassed of being _scared_ by a door that wouldn't open?" Masako retorted, obviously sharing Hitomi's doubts about the miko's professionalism.

_"Shut up, you little jerk!"_ Ayako snapped, vein throbbing on her forehead. "I'm a professional, unlike a fake psychic medium who got popular just because of her looks!"

"Thank you for the compliment on my good looks." Masako responded drolly. Ayako grit her teeth in annoyance. _This little girl…!_ Both she and Hitomi were completely underestimating her!

"Hnh!" She huffed indignantly, tossing her head defiantly. "I think what I just experienced was caused by a chirei that lives on land."

"Chirei? You mean a jibakurei?" Mai asked.

"No, I don't. Jibakurei are spirits trapped in a particular location because of something that happened there. Chirei are spirits of the land… also knows as 'seirei'." Ayako explained.

"I think it was an act by a jibakurei." Takigawa said. "I wonder if something happened to this building in the past? My guess is, there's a ghost that's afraid of losing its home and is trying to prevent the demolition."

"What do you think, John?" Naru asked, turning to the priest. Hitomi sweat-dropped when she noticed Naru seemed to be playing around with a nail. Wasn't that a little dangerous? She hoped he'd had his tetanus shot recently…

"I don't really know. Isn't the phenomena of a haunted building usually caused by a **spirit** or **ghost**?" John asked.

" A **spirit** is a spirit (seirei)… A **ghost** is a ghost (yurei)…" Naru mused. He glanced at Hitomi, and was gratified to see her paying attention to this discussion. "Are you listening, Mai?" He asked, glancing at his other assistant.

"Thank you for caring!" Mai grumbled as a vein mark throbbed on her forehead, chagrined. Why was she the only one getting picked on_!_?

"So, if a psychic phenomena is caused by **spirits**, it would mean that chirei have a close connection with the land, or it could mean that the spirits have called for the devil…" John said thoughtfully. Hitomi shuddered a little at the thought of Satan appearing in the old school house. It was bad enough that he had used algebra to put the alphabet in math! "If the phenomena was caused by a **ghost**, that would mean it was an act by jibakurei." John concluded.

"So don't you think it was caused by a chirei?" Ayako asked urgently.

"It's a jibakurei, right_!_?" Takigawa pressed.

"Wa… I can't tell for sure." John said nervously, sweat-dropping.

"Anyway! I just need to exorcise it, right? I'll take care of it tomorrow." The miko huffed as she headed for the door. "I couldn't stand being involved with a crappy incident like this for much longer."

"What a waste." Masako sighed. "As I said, there are no spirits here."

"But there are so many stories about this building." Mai said, surprised. "Right, Sempai?"

"Sorry, Mai-chan… but I'm actually inclined to agree with Hara-san. All of those incidents had a clear cause and logical explanation. I doubt a this place is haunted." Hitomi said, also sighing, as she smiled wryly at her kohai.

"Then, how do you explain the miko-san getting locked in that room just now?" Mai asked stubbornly.

"That was her overactive imagination, clearly." Masako replied bluntly.

"Ah, I see." Mai said, sweat-dropping. 'But… both Naru and the bou-san tried to open the door, and they couldn't. And as the bou-san was saying… could the miko-san have locked it herself? Ah, but I remember Hitomi-sempai mentioning earlier that there wasn't supposed to be a lock on that door…'

"Well, this building is practically ancient… A lot of the wood has become warped and weathered over the years. It's possible the frame of the door shrank over time, making it increasingly more difficult to open again once the door's been slammed shut… though I guess there still remains the question of who or what slammed the door shut to begin with…" Hitomi said thoughtfully, sweat-dropping. "I wonder if the floor could be slanted…?"

"That is one plausible explanation…" Naru said cryptically. He didn't sound very convinced, though.

"I've been meaning to ask you…" Masako said softly, approaching Naru. "Have I had the pleasure of meeting you somewhere before?" Hitomi raised both eyebrows as she and Mai watched the scene unfolding before them with a sense of astonishment. _Was she seriously hitting on him? Now?_

"No, I believe this is our first meeting." Naru replied calmly.

"I see…" Masako said, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Oh…" Bou-san remarked, grinning, while John blushed slightly, and the two other girls sweat-dropped.

'This isn't the time to be picking up guys…!' Mai thought, irked.

"Oh, Naru! The sun is about to set." Hitomi informed him, surprised to realize it had gotten so late without any of them noticing after glancing at the windows.

"Ah… We need to put our equipment in the second floor classroom in the far west corner of the building." Naru said decisively. "Then we should get out of here."

"Oh, shounen, you're not staying over night?" Monk asked curiously.

"Not tonight… Mai, Hitomi." Naru said, glancing at the two girls to make sure he had their attention. "Tomorrow, after school, please be prepared to stay."

"**Roger**~!" Hitomi responded playfully, giving their boss a little salute. Unfortunately, Mai's own response wasn't anywhere near that easy-going.

"Huhhhhh_!_? _But tomorrow is Saturday!"_ Mai shouted incredulously. Hitomi raised an eyebrow at that. She didn't see what the big deal was, since they already had to come to school for a couple of hours anyway.

"Come on, Mai! Where's your will to be weird?" Hitomi teased Mai lightly.

"Would you rather pay me back for my camera?" Naru asked her.

"Darn it… I'll be ready." Mai agreed reluctantly, clenching her fist, as somewhat comic streams of tears began flowing down her face. _That jerk…!_

—∞—

**[Saturday Morning]**

_"Hara Masako!_?" Michiru shouted incredulously. _"You mean the lady that's on TV?"_ She couldn't believe it!

"She was trying to pick up Naru." Mai said, sighing, as she leaned back in her chair.

"She's a very pretty lady…" Keiko said sadly, starting to get depressed. First Hitomi-sempai, and now a celebrity like Hara Masako… how were any of them supposed to stand a chance against that…?

"Ah, yeah…" Mai said hesitantly, sweat-dropping, surprised to see her friend so down over a jerk like Naru. "H-Hey, don't be concerned about him! He's dishonest, a liar, has a mean streak, is a narcissist, and…"

"But he's handsome." Michiru declared determinedly, clenching her fist. Mai practically face-faulted. No comment. "For women, it's all about the charm!"

"Right, whatever you say." Mai said, starting to feel a little jaded. She sighed and cast a casual glance around the classroom, only to have her eyes connect almost directly with Kuroda's. The bespectacled girl was watching them with a sort of wistful and lonely look in her eyes. For a moment, it seemed Kuroda wanted to say something to, but then she turned and ran from the room like a frightened rabbit. Mai was puzzled. 'Again… Lately, every time I turn around, Kuroda-san is staring. I wonder why… I hope she's not going to ask if she can join us.' Mai thought. It was kind of unnerving to be watched like that…

—∞—

"Hello!" Mai called out cheerfully as she slid open the door to the base, expecting to see Naru or Hitomi. _"!_?" She gasped, startled to see Kuroda instead. "What are you doing in here?" Mai asked. She hoped Kuroda hadn't touched anything, because Mai had no doubt that if anything was out of place, _she_ (not Kuroda) would most likely be the one Naru would blame.

"Nothing really… just looking around." Kuroda replied. "Shibuya-san isn't here yet, is he?"

"Hey! Sorry, I'm later than expected." Hitomi greeted Mai, sighing tiredly as she entered the room. "My classmates jumped me and wouldn't let me go until… Oh, Kuroda-san…" She said, pausing to blink, a little taken aback to see the other girl standing in their HQ. "What are you doing in here? Did you come to hang out with Mai?"

"She says she's just looking around… but more importantly, Sempai… Why are you dressed like that?" Mai asked, sweat-dropping. Instead of the usual uniform, for reasons unknown Hitomi appeared to be cosplaying as young courtier in casual clothing from the Heian era, complete with a tate-eboshi hat and everything… Only, it varied somewhat from tradition in that the tall, black hat was framed by what seemed to be two blonde kitsune ears, and her long hair was not stuffed into the hat, but pulled into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. She was also wearing a black eye patch that had a pentagram embroidered on it and a magatama rosary around her neck for accessories. Hitomi sweat-dropped and smiled wryly as she whipped out a paper fan and began laughing a little awkwardly while using it to hide her mouth.

"Ahaha… Oh, that. Well, like I said… I was jumped. It turns out those guys were upset with me for skipping class, because I missed the day we were supposed to sign each other's yearbooks… The girls sort of forcibly stripped me and confiscated my uniform so I'd have to wear this. It's supposed to be their take on Abe no Seimei. They promised to give it back after I signed everyone's yearbooks properly, but for some reason, we couldn't find my uniform when we went back to the ladies' room… We think someone stole it." Hitomi explained while two comical trails of tears streamed down her face.

'Uwaah…' Mai thought sympathetically, sweat-dropping, as she and Kuroda just stared at her, not sure what to say. Poor Hitomi-sempai... Her class was really… _unique_…

"And, to make matters worse, I found out those idiots made this…!" Hitomi exclaimed, holding up the two books in her other hand so they could see. The larger, thinner one was the school yearbook, and the smaller but thicker one had the extremely embarrassing and suspicious title: ~_Hitomi-pyon's Magical Love-Love High School Career~!_

"That is…?" Mai asked, almost dreading the answer.

"A special photo album featuring pictures of me during every single instance they ever made me cosplay… which typically means stuff from school events, like the cultural festival, but they have a few pictures of me in my archery uniform as well." Hitomi said, sighing tiredly again. "They've even laminated them!"

"Ah, b-but at least it's just the one copy, right…?" Mai said, trying to cheer her up.

_SNAP!_

Hitomi dramatically snapped her fan shut and pointed it at Mai.

_"!_?" Mai said, startled. There was a fierce look in Hitomi-sempai's eyes. All of a sudden, she looked a lot less like a sullen high school girl, and a lot more like a professional actor portraying a proud noble from one of those intense period dramas.

"Fool! You're underestimating them _way _too much_!_!" Hitomi scolded her seriously. "Knowing them, they've already made backups, for the backups, of the backups, of the backups! And they've already given away one copy to every third-year who wanted one! Next thing you know, they'll be selling them to the second and first years to cover the printing costs!"

_"Eeehhhhh!_?" Mai exclaimed, eyes widening in shock, as her mouth dropped and she turned blue with shock. "Th-That's amazing… _and scary_…"

"Tell me about it!" Hitomi huffed, sweat dropping, as she hung her head in defeat, depressed just thinking about it. She loved her class, but they just drove her totally bonkers sometimes…! She set the two books aside for the moment on the desk in front of the chalkboard since it was closest. "It's a good thing they lack ambition, because with that kind of coordination and willpower, they could probably take over Japan… if they felt like it." Now _that_ was a scary thought!

"… But why Abe no Seimei?" Kuroda asked abruptly, reminding them of her presence.

"They said it was because they knew I was going ghost hunting again after class. You know, 'Kyaa, it's perfect~! You can exorcise the ghosts while you're at it~!' Harada-kun even stuffed the sleeves with talismans from his family's shrine for me…" Hitomi explained, smiling wryly, as she pulled out a few to show them. They were supposed to be for 'safety'...

'Wow, Hitomi-sempai's really loved, huh…?' Mai thought, also smiling wryly. Maybe a little _too_ much, since their way of showing affection seems a little too much like harassment…

"Oh… Speaking of which, how did it go yesterday?" Kuroda asked, trying not to sound overly anxious or curious.

"Mai?" Hitomi asked. She hadn't actually seen Naru yet today since she went to class first thing, and was only just released back into the wild.

"Nothing new… Naru said there was nothing unusual." Mai explained hesitantly, wondering if it was really okay to tell other students like Kuroda about it. "You shouldn't touch anything. Naru would get upset."

"Anything else?" Kuroda asked, scanning the monitors. Mai and Hitomi shared a glance, silently deciding whether or not they should go ahead and tell her. They might as well. She'd probably end up finding out sooner or later anyway.

"… The miko-san got stuck in a room, but they couldn't confirm whether it was due to a psychic phenomena or not." Mai answered again.

"Why?" Kuroda asked. One would think it would be the obvious conclusion that something like that was the work of spirits.

"Because no one else actually saw it happen, and the psychic medium said there are no spirits here." Hitomi explained.

"By psychic medium, do you mean Hara Masako? She's a fake." Kuroda stated disdainfully.

_"Huh!_?" Mai exclaimed, shocked. What was Kuroda saying_!_? Hitomi didn't say anything, but she raised a rather skeptical eyebrow, finding it ironic that Kuroda, of all people, was accusing someone else of being fake psychic, despite knowing how terrible it felt to be on the receiving end.

"She's popular on TV because of her good looks, but she's not a real psychic." Kuroda asserted. "There are spirits here, very strong ones…"

"But you're the only one who's feeling it." Hitomi said, noticing that Mai was starting to look a little nervous. Besides, she doubted Naru would have been so interested in Masako's arrival the other day if he thought she were a fake.

"I was attacked by spirits a little while ago." Kuroda said gravely, narrowing her eyes slightly at the older girl.

_"No way!" _Mai yelled, appalled.

"Are you sure?" Hitomi asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

"It's true." Kuroda insisted. "I was walking in the hallway, and suddenly something started pulling my hair from behind. I tried to run away from it, it started to choke me… it said 'You're psychic power is too strong… You're an obstacle!'."

"…" Hitomi said, deep in thought, while she scanned Kuroda's neck for any signs of bruising. A bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of Mai's face. Things were starting to get a little too intense for her liking… Mai gasped, caught off-guard, when a familiar voice broke the silence.

"What's going on?" Naru asked sternly, wondering why they had let Kuroda in the base, and why Hitomi was wearing such a strange getup. Did she lose her mind since he last saw her? "Those clothes…"

"_I know_. Please, don't look at me like that… It wasn't my idea…" Hitomi said, silently begging him not to say anything more on the matter. "I was forced, and it's a long story… I'll tell you later. I think you might want to hear about what happened to Kuroda-san first…"


	11. Evil Spirits11

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

"**English speech"**  
"Japanese speech"  
'Thoughts'  
—∞— Scene transition and/or time lapse  
–∞– shift from one separate group's perspective to another within the same ongoing scene.  
**[Setting/scene]**  
Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
SOUND EFFECTS WILL BE IN ALL CAPS

* * *

**Previously:**

_"What's going on?" Naru asked sternly, wondering why they had let Kuroda in the base, and why Hitomi was wearing such a strange getup. Did she lose her mind since he last saw her? "Those clothes…"_

_"I know. Please, don't look at me like that… It wasn't my idea…" Hitomi said, silently begging him not to say anything more on the matter. "I was forced, and it's a long story… I'll tell you later. I think you might want to hear about what happened to Kuroda-san first…"_

* * *

**Case 1: Evil Spirits All Over_!_? (Part 11)**

* * *

"When did that happen?" Naru asked, once the girls had finished recounting the supposed 'psychic attack' on Kuroda-san.

"Just now." She said.

"Let's replay the video." Naru said deciding to check up on it, even though it didn't look like there was any physical evidence on her person to back up her claim. As far as he could tell, there wasn't a hair out of place on her head. "Where were you?"

"The second floor hallway." Kuroda replied. Naru immediately began typing on the keyboard, entering the command to rewind until it reached about the time when Kuroda should have entered the building.

_KA-CHAK._

They watched as Kuroda stepped through the front door and carefully closed it behind her before proceeding up the stairs.

"Right there!" Mai exclaimed, pointing to one of the monitors in the top row when Kuroda walked out of range of the first camera and reappeared on the next at the top of the stairs.

PTZ! ZSSSSHHH…

"Huh?" Hitomi said dumbly, blinking in confusion, when the screen suddenly blinked the moment Kuroda set foot in the hallway. For several minutes, the only thing they could see was static. When it cleared again, Kuroda was no longer in the hallway, meaning she must have already made her way to the base…

"What's that! Is it broken?" Mai asked, alarmed.

"I touched nothing." Hitomi said, quickly proclaiming her innocence, as she raised her hands and took a step back. Mai sweat-dropped. She wished she had thought of doing that… She was still well within arm's reach of Naru. Fortunately, Naru didn't blame them, nor did he seem particularly upset.

"Everything is operating as it should be, and the camera shouldn't be broken." He informed them, thinking out loud. "This is very interesting."

"What is?" Mai asked curiously.

"When spirits appear, equipment often stops working properly." Naru explained.

"You mean, like when a fully charged battery will suddenly run out of juice?" Hitomi asked. "I've heard that ghostly activity can supposedly drain nearby power sources, sometimes…" She remembered seeing that happening multiple times on the ghost hunt TV show she used to watch.

"Yes, something like that..." Naru said thoughtfully. "I wonder if this was caused by a spirit, or EM interference, or…"

'Or…?' Hitomi wondered, curious about what it was that he wouldn't say out loud.

"You mentioned it said something. What did it sound like?" He asked, turning back to face Kuroda.

"It was a hoarse voice… but I believe it was female." Kuroda said slowly, thinking it over.

"But Masako said there was no spirit." Mai pointed out.

"Right." Hiromi agreed, nodding. "This building's pretty old, so maybe the wiring in the walls has gone bad… there could be a faulty connection leaking EMF waves… Can't that make people feel sick or hallucinate if exposed to it for too long."

"It takes a much longer period of exposure to bring about hallucinations than the few minutes it took Kuroda-san to pass through the hall." Naru pointed out.

"I wonder if she really is psychic." Kuroda said dubiously. Hitomi sighed. Not this again…

"It is normal for a female medium to have a bad day once in a while." Naru stated calmly. "I thought I could rely on her talent… or, let's say there really is a spirit here. Perhaps you and the spirit here are on the same wavelength."

"That may be why…" Kuroda said thoughtfully, finally brightening up a little.

'If that really is so, then, is all of this our fault…?' Mai wondered, worried that Kuroda had also been right about how she and her friends had been attracting spirits with their ghost stories.

"Mai…?" Hitomi said, frowning slightly with concern, when she noticed the younger girl's sudden uneasiness.

"What's up, guys? Anything happen since…" The bou-san started to greet them as he entered the room, but his train of thought completely derailed upon noticing Hitomi's strange choice of clothing for the day. "… And what are you supposed to be? Some kind of inugami?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Abe no Seimei. Can't you tell?" Hitomi retorted, raising her own eyebrow back at him. She was starting to get tired of people asking about it. "That's right. I see your sarcasm and raise you some sass, Bou-san." Takigawa smirked.

"Abe no Seimei, huh? Well, I guess I can _vaguely _see that… He was supposedly part kitsune, at least, according to legend…" He replied thoughtfully. It was actually pretty amusing, seeing her in that ridiculous cosplay. "What's the occasion, are you going to exorcise the jibakurei for us?"

"Maybe, if there is one." Hitomi replied smartly, crossing her arms.

"Well, you're gonna have to get in line, because I saw Ayako on my way over here, and you're not the only one who's made a costume change." Bou-san quipped, motioning towards the stairs. It could be worth checking out.

—∞—

"Wow, she even brought the principal and vice-principal to watch." Hitomi remarked. They had all decided to come downstairs and watch after hearing Bou-san's news about the miko's decision to attempt an exorcism of her own. "She must be pretty confident."

"Hello, again." The principal greeted everyone. "Ah, Matsumoto-kun. I see you went to class today. Very good. I trust Sasaki-sensei informed all of you that your test scores will definitely be handed out tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, sir. He made sure to tell us first thing." Hitomi said, smiling wryly as she sweat-dropped. Was that really all he had to say after seeing what she was wearing…? Well, he was probably just used to it by now. He had given up trying to stop her classes shenanigans a long time ago. As long as no one got hurt and the school didn't get sued, he didn't really seem to care…

"I take it this happens often?" Naru asked Hitomi as the principal left to join the vice-principal and have a brief word with Ayako before she began her ceremony. The man hadn't seemed even the slightest bit fazed by her odd costume…

"Often. _Very often._" Hitomi replied, sighing as she hung her head, a little embarrassed.

"I've seen Sempai's cosplay during school events before, but this…" Mai said sympathetically, smiling wryly as she sweat-dropped. At least during the other times, the rest of Hitomi's class had been dressed up too, but here and now she was the only one… It took guts to walk around out in the open like that…

"Okay, pay attention." Ayako said, signaling that she was ready to begin. She smiled confidently as she stepped up to the Shinto altar that she had set up beforehand. "I'll exorcise it immediately."

"I wonder if she's really able… I guess I may as well check it out." Bou-san said thoughtfully. "What about you?" He asked Naru.

"I've never seen a Shinto-style exorcism. I guess I'll check it out too." Naru decided after thinking it over. It might be worth seeing, from a cultural standpoint, if nothing else.

"Yeah, this'll be my first time seeing one in person." Hitomi agreed. She had seen one once before, but that was in a movie, so who knew how accurate _that _had been... She noticed Kuroda was glaring at the miko, practically scowling with disapproval and dislike, before the anti-social girl turned on her heel and left, heading back to the base alone.

_SHKK!_

They all watched as the Miko began to wave her harai-gushi to and fro while solemnly chanting her own distinct version of a norito.

"What's this?' Mai asked curiously. "What is she saying?"

"Be quiet. You're Japanese and you don't even know about norito?" Naru chided her.

"Norito?" Hitomi asked. She had never heard it called that before. Weren't Shinto purifications normally referred to as Harai?

"They're like Shinto incantations." Bou-san explained.

"I see…" Hitomi said, sweat-dropping. That much had been kind of obvious… She had been hoping for a deeper explanation, but decided to just let it go for now and pay more attention the ritual.

"Huh…" Mai hummed, also glancing back at the Miko. They watched the rest of the elegant ritual in silence.

'Well, I'll say this much for her… Matsuzaki-san's status as a miko may be suspicious, but she has style.' Hitomi thought, somewhat impressed with the older woman's concentration and level of showmanship. It didn't really feel like much else was happening, though… Eventually, the self-styled miko completed the norito prayer and waved her paper wand one last time.

"There will be nothing to worry about now." She declared confidently, turning to face the principal and vice-principal, who had been standing behind her for the whole duration of the ritual. Both men let out a sigh of relief.

"My, how very impressive!" The vice-principal praised her.

"The expression 'divine' fits most perfectly." The principal added.

"Shall we all go out for drinks to celebrate tonight?" The vice-principal asked her.

"After I've banished spirits from a place, I spend the night there, so I make sure everything is okay." Ayako told him, politely excusing herself.

"I see. You are indeed a pro. Well then, how about lunch somewhere?" The principal suggested.

"Huaa…" Bou-san yawned. "She's finally done." Mai, and Hitomi also yawned unable to help themselves after seeing him do it, and they began stretching as they all walked away together, with the calm and stoic Naru in the lead.

_CHNK._

Everyone in the room paused when they heard the ominous sound, their eyes widening as cracks began to spread through the glass windowpanes on the door before the miko and the older men.

_"Get down!"_ Hitomi shouted urgently at them just as the glass shattered with an almost explosive force, showering them with a rain of dangerously sharp shards of glass.

_CRRAAASH!_

"Ahhh!" The miko shrieked, ducking, as the older men cried out in surprise, unable to react as quickly. Ayako was able to shield her head and face with her arms, but the two men were not so lucky.

"Principal!" Hitomi exclaimed anxiously, rushing over to the injured man. Both he and the vice-principal were lying on the floor near the stunned miko.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bou-san yelled as he ran over to help. Ayako and the vice-principal looked relatively unharmed, but the principal wasn't moving. It looked like he had hit the ground pretty hard when he fell.

"The principal's bleeding, and I think he hit his head!" Hitomi exclaimed.

"Ah, him too!" Bou-san said as he checked the vice-principal. Ayako seemed shaken, but other than that, she had been lucky enough to come out virtually unscathed. "Are you okay_!_? Can you stand?"

"Y-Yes… I think so…" The vice-principal said a little shakily.

"Mai!" Hitomi said urgently, snapping the stunned and appalled girl back to the real world. "Go get the school nurse!"

"Y-Yeah!" Mai shouted, bracing herself, and heading for the door.

"Ah. Ibaragi-sensei isn't in today…" The vice-principal said regretfully, stopping Mai in her tracks. Of all the times for no one to be in the infirmary…!

"I'll get an ambulance, then!" Hitomi declared determinedly, pulling out her cellphone and dialing 119. "Hello? Yes, there's been an accident at my school. It's a medical emergency. Two men have been injured by broken glass, and one of them is unconscious and looks like he'll need stitches." She paused as the person on the other end of the line spoke. "Yes. Please do." She said seriously, nodding her head. "The address is…"

—∞—

"Ah! What happened_!_? Did someone get hurt?" John asked when he arrived at the old building just in time to see Naru, Takigawa, and Mai standing outside while they watched the ambulance drive off to bring the principal to the hospital. "Where is Hitomi-san?"

"She went with the ambulance, but she wasn't the one who was injured." Naru informed him calmly. Since the vice-principal's wounds weren't that serious, he had elected to stay behind and watch over the school while the principal received treatment for his more serious wounds. He had asked Hitomi to accompany the principal to the hospital in his place, since he knew they could rely on her in such a situation. "Let's get back to the base. We'll explain on the way up."

—∞—

**[Meanwhile, in the base…]**

"'There will be nothing to worry about now', huh?" Kuroda asked the miko mockingly. "You didn't properly eliminate the spirits. The school principal even got hurt because of you."

"Hnn!" Ayako said, gritting her teeth in irritation. She wanted to retort, but she couldn't deny what she had witnessed with her own eyes.

"That was an accident." Masako stated calmly.

"That's right." Ayako agreed, relieved to have some backup. "I know I got rid of them…"

"I'm not saying you were not successful at exorcising them, but that there were never any spirits here to begin with." Masako clarified.

"There are too!" Kuroda retorted angrily.

"Could it have been a coincidence?" John asked as he and the others entered the room.

"Maybe there really _is_ something here. Something that's too strong for a miko-san to handle?"

"If so, there ought to have been more readings on my equipment." Naru said.

'A-ah,' Mai sighed internally as she stared up at the monitors, 'if only I had some spiritual sensitivity. If I'm the one who summoned the one who summoned the spirits here, then I want to be the one to do something about them…' What if Kuroda was right about how their ghost stories had attracted spirits to the school? "Huh…?" Mai said, perking up, when she noticed something odd. "That classroom didn't have a chair in the middle of it, did it?" Mai asked Naru, pointing to the screen.

"That's the classroom on the eastern edge of the 2nd floor." Naru said, glancing at the screen.

"Nn. Yesterday, when I set up the camera in there, it wasn't there. I'm sure of it. I'd remember." Mai said insistently.

"Did anyone go inside that classroom today?" Naru asked, turning to the address the others.

"No…?" Bou-san replied, glancing at John. He didn't touch it, and There was no way it could be the priest, since he had just gotten there.

"Me, either." Naru replied, turning back to his equipment so he could rewind the footage and see what really happened.

"—Why don't we go have lunch somewhere?" The principal's voice sounded from the speakers as the recorded footage began to replay. The could hear the sound of the glass breaking and the miko's scream. And then, something startling happened.

CLATTER. _SCRAPE. SCRAAAPE._

"Ah!" Mai gasped when the chair began to wobble and move on its own, slowly sliding shakily across the room. It even turned around as went!

"What's happening?" Mai asked Naru nervously. Did she really just see what she thinks she did…?

"…" Naru said as he continued to stare at the screen, trying to consider all of the possibilities. His thoughts were interrupted when Kuroda spoke up.

"Couldn't it be a **poltergeist**?" She stated more than asked.

"Poltergaisto?" Mai asked confusedly, unfamiliar with the foreign word.

"I believe it means 'noisy ghost' in German." Kuroda said knowingly, adjusting her glasses. "These spirits move things around, make noises, and so on. Isn't that right, Shibuya-san?"

"That's absolutely correct. But I don't think this was a **poltergeist.**" Naru responded. "Objects that are moved by a **poltergeist** should feel warm to the touch, but it doesn't seem like this chair has gone up in temperature. That would be very unusual."

"Maybe not, but going by Tisane's conditions…" John said. "Is there any other evidence that would let us categorize it as a **poltergeist**?"

"?" Kuroda said, looking slightly taken aback, like she didn't quite recognize the name.

"Tisane?" Mai asked.

"E. Tisane. He was a French police officer who classified **poltergeisting**." Naru explained patiently. "Shaking objects, explosions, opening and closing doors, making noises, knocking, and so on… a total of nine categories in all." He continued on to explain for the less informed in the room. "If we apply them here to the phenomena that have occurred in this school, we have a door closing and locking by itself, a moving object… even if we include the broken glass, that only gives us three of those conditions." And you generally needed to fulfill at least seven out of the nine for a phenomena like this to be considered a legitimate poltergeist… "I think we lack enough evidence to assume that it is a **poltergeist**." He concluded.

"Well, what about when Kuroda-san got attacked?" Mai suggested. Wasn't that bizarre enough?

"Yeah, what about that_!_?" Kuroda demanded indignantly. When were they going to mention _that_ to the others? Was Shibuya-san just going to ignore that fact_!_?

"She did?" Ayako asked, eyes widening. _"Why didn't anyone tell me that!_?" Ayako demanded, chagrined. That kind of thing would have been nice to know _before _she had tried her purification ritual! Naru sent Mai a sharp glare of disapproval. She just had to open her big mouth…

'Uh… What is he glaring at_!_?' Mai wondered nervously, taken aback. What was his problem_!_? 'Hurry up and come back, Hitomi-sempai…!' She thought, not sure how much longer she could handle a disgruntled Naru on her own.


End file.
